■■■—..■■  —  m-i— ~»«™»n»»»Wll»»m^.->.T.'OTi. 


R0BE8I  J>  SiBBkK 


A  CENTURY 


OF 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 


By   ROBERT  THOMAS. 


PRESS  I  'I 

GERMANTOWN     INDEPENDENT. 

[895 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1895,  by 

ROBERT  THOMAS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C 


THE  REV.  FRANCIS  ASBURY. 


ROBERT  THOMAS. 


PREFACE. 


To    the    Members    and  Friends   of  the    Methodist    Episcopal  Church   in 
Gemtantown: 

At  the  request  of  many  members  of  the  "Methodist  Episcopal 
Church"  in  Germantown,  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  you  a  brief  his- 
tory of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  in  this  place;  as  I  have 
gathered  it  from  the  records  of  the  churches  and  other  sources, 
as  well  as  from  my  own  knowledge  and  experience  as  a  member 
of  the  Church  from  the  year  1827  down  to  the  pit-sent  time;  together 
with  some  of  the  incidents  connected  therewith;  and  some  of  the 
more    striking    traits    or    peculiarities    of    its    ministers    .\n<\    members. 

January,  1895.  ROBERT  THOMAS. 


METHODISM 

IN 

GERMANTOWN. 


The  first  sermon  preached  in  Germantown  by  an  ordained  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  we  have  any  record,  was 
hy  the  Rev.  Francis  Asbury, on  Monday,  March  31st,  1773,  in  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  on  Market  Square,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
"Market  Square  Presbyterian  Church."  Prior  to  that  date  there  had 
been  occasional  preaching  in  Germantown  by  Local  Preachers.  In  the 
year  1704.  or  in  the  early  part  of  1795,  the  Methodists  were  granted  the 
privilege  of  holding  meetings  in  the  Academy  Building,  on  School-house 
lane,  and  continued  to  worship  there  for  several  years.  1  See  minute 
book  of  the  Academy.) 

On  the  eighteenth  day  of  May,  1796,  Ezekiel  Cooper  preached  in  the 
Academy,  and  again  on  June  4th,  of  the  same  year.  He  then  organized 
a  class,  consisting  of  about  eleven  members,  and  appointed  Joseph 
Jacobs  (a  Weslevan  from  England)  leader.  Prior  to  this  date  there  had 
been  class  meetings  held  in  Germantown;  but  this  was  the  first  regularly 
organized  class  of  which  we  have  any  record.  (See  "Lights  on  Parly 
Methodism,"  more  properly,  the  biography  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  paoe  230). 

Brother  Jacobs  continued  to  be  'the  leader  of  said  class  for  a  short 
time  only,  and  was  succeeded  by  Jacob  Butcher,  who  continued  to  be  a 
leader  tor  many  years.  The  writer  of  this  has  frequently  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  class  led  by  Brother  Butcher,  which,  tor  several  years, 
nut  in  the  house-  oi  Elizabeth  Thomas  (mother  of  the  writer),  on  the 
Mam  Street,  between  Mill  street  and  Armat  street,  as  now  opened. 

In  the  year  [799,  Jacob  Reger,  a  resident  ol  Germantown,  desired 
to  take  unto  himself  as  his  wife,  Dorothy  Shrader,  daughter  of  Hannah 


4  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

Shrader;  both  mother  and  daughter  were  members  of  St.  George's  Church, 
and  lived  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  mother  objected  to  the  mar- 
riage, on  account  of  there  being  no  Methodist  meetings  held  in  German- 
town;  the  Academy  building  at  that  time  being  closed  against  them,  Mr. 
Regar  promised  the  mother  that  if  she  would  consent  to  her  daughter 
marrying  him,  and  they  making  their  home  with  him  in  Germantown, 
he  would  take  both  mother  and  daughter  to  St.  George's  Church  on 
Sundays  until  there  should  be  regular  services  by  the  Methodists  in 
Germantown.  Upon  this  promise,  the  mother  gave  her  consent,  and  on 
the  twelfth  day  of  November,  1799,  Jacob  Reger  was  married  to  the 
daughter,  Dorothy  Shrader,  by  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper.  (See  Church 
record  of  St.  George's  Church.) 

At  this  time  Jacob  Reger  was  not  a  member  of  the  Church.  Mother 
and  daughter  moved  to  Germantown.  Brother  Reger  kept  his  promise, 
and  soon  after  that  date  opened  his  house  for  public  worship.  The  house 
is  still  standing  on  the  southeast  side  of  Haines  street,  about  midway 
between  the  Main  street  and  the  present  parsonage.  From  that  time  on 
until  the  year  1803,  the  Methodists,  whose  motto  was,  and  ever  should 
be,  "Onward  and  Upward,"  held  their  meetings  in  private  houses; 
sometimes  in  the  house  of  Brother  Reger,  sometimes  in  the  house  of 
Brother  Joseph  Jacobs,  a  frame  house  which  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Mill  streets  (the  site  now  occupied  by  Ebeiie's  drug  store); 
and  at  other  times  in  the  shop  of  Frederick  Axe,  on  the  southwest 
side  of  the  Main  street,  below  Washington  lane.  (The  property  now 
belongs  to  Mrs.  Ann  Keyser.j 

In  the  year  1803,  Henry  Boehm,  who  had  occasionally  preached  in 
Germantown,  as  his  father  had  done  before  him,  feeling  a  deep  interest 
in  the  cause  of  Methodism,  and  believing  this  field  to  be  ripe  for  the 
harvest,  determined  to  see  what  could  be  done  towards  securing  a  lot 
and  building  a  House  of  Worship  thereon,  and  for  that  purpose  started  a 
subscription;  and  in  part  of  one  day  (February  3rd,  1803),  received 
subscriptions  amounting  to  over  one  hundred  dollars   ($100),  which  was 


MhTHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  5 

at  that  time  considered  a  wonderful  success.     Several  hundred  dollars 

more  were  soon  added  to  the  list,  and  the  Society  then  purchased  a  lot  oi 
ground  from  Jacob  Reger,  adjoining  his  residence-  on  Haines  street,  and 
to  the  northeast  of  the  same. 

About  this  time,  Jacob  Reger,  who  had  been  converted,  joined  the 

Church. 

Haines  street  was  then  known  as  "Pickius"  or  "Bickius  Lane,"  and 
afterwards  commonly  called  "Methodist  Lane"  or  "Meeting-House 
Lane,"  which  latter  name  it  maintained  until  after  the  incorporation  of 
the  Borough  of  Germantown,  when  it  was  named  Haines  street.  Upon 
this  lot  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Germantown  was  built. 
On  the  twenty-first  day  of  May,  A.  D.,  1804,  Jacob  Reger  made  a 
deed  to  Thomas  Allibone,  Thomas  Hoskins,  James  Dougherty,  Samuel 
Harvey,  John  Hewson,  Jr.,  John  Hood,  Lambert  Wilmer,  Dr.  William 
Budd,  and  Caleb  North,  Trustees,  and  their  successors,  in  trust,  for  the 
use  of  the  Methodist  Congregation,  in  Germantown,  etc.  (see  Deed 
Book  E.  T.,  No.  16.  page  518,  etc.),  for  a  lot  or  piece  of  ground,  situate 
on  the  southeast  side  of  Pickius  lane,  in  Germantown.  on  which  said 
lot  there  had  been  erected  a  stone  building  or  Meeting-house  for  public 
worship.  Consideration  $266.66.  Said  lot  had  a  frontage  on  Pickius 
Lane  (now  Haines  street),  ol  sixty  (60)  feet,  and  extended  in  depth, 
southeastwardly,  fifty-one  (51)  feet.  The  first  Meeting-house  was 
about  twenty  (20)  feet  front  on  Haines  street  or  Pickius  lane,  by  about 
thirty  (30)  feet  in  depth.  The  lot  was  situate  about  midway  between 
the  Main  street  and  the  present  church   building. 

An  incident  occurred  in  connection  with  the  erection  ol  this  Meeting- 
house which  is  worthy  of  record,  and  shows  what  a  woman  can  do  when 
she  will.  When  the  day  and  hour  arrived  for  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone, Brother  Ezekiel  Cooper,  who  was  to  have  been  present  for  that 
purpose,  did  not  put  in  an  appearance;  the  congregation,  after  having 
waited  some  time  for  Brother  Cooper's  arrival,  determined  to  wait  no 
longer,   and  proceeded  with  the  services.      An  appropriate  address  was 


6  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

made  by  Daniel  Pastorius,  a  Dunkard,  who  had  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  raising  of  funds  for  the  erection  of  the  building,  and  who  was  one 
of  the  Building  Committee.  A  hymn  was  then  given  out  by  Sister 
Dorothy  Reger;  and  after  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  she  offered  up  a 
prayer,  and  proceeded  to  lay  the  corner-stone.  Doubtless,  this  is  the 
only  instance  on  record  in  this  city  wherein  a  woman  took  so  prominent 
a  part  in  such  a  ceremony.  The  cost  of  this  first  Meeting-house,  accor- 
ding to  a  memorandum  made  by  Samuel  Harvey,  then  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  was  $1276.05. 

In  this  year  (1804)  Germantown  was  taken  into  and  became  one  of 
the  regular  appointments,  of  Bristol  Circuit,  which,  at  that  time, 
extended  from  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  For  some 
years  the  circuit  was  travelled,  sometimes  by  two  and  at  other  times  by 
three  preachers,  and  it  took  them  from  four  to  six  weeks  to  make  the 
round  of  the  circuit.  Most  of  the  appointments  had  regular  preaching 
but  once  in  two  weeks;  but  those  nearer  to  the  city  had  service  every 
Sunday,  the  alternate  Sunday  service  being  conducted  by  Local 
Preachers  or  Exhorters.  The  circuit,  although  formed  as  early  as  the 
year  1789,  appears  not  to  have  been  under  the  especial  care  of  a  Presi- 
ding Elder  until  the  year  1804,  when  the  Conference  appointed  the  Rev. 
William  Corbet,  as  Presiding  Elder,  and  the  Circuit  Preachers  for  the 
year  were  David  Bartine  and  David  James. 

The  first  Quarterly  Conference  of  which  we  have  any  record  was 
held  at  Bristol,  Bucks  county,  June  8th  or  9th,  1805.  The  conference 
was  composed  of  Solomon  Sharp,  Presiding  Elder;  Asa  Smith  and  Daniel 
Higby,  Travelling  or  Circuit  Preachers;  William  Wetherill,  Local 
Preacher;  and  Joseph  White  and  Joshua  Vanzant,  Class  Leaders.  It 
being  found  upon  inquiry,  that  there  was  no  book  belonging  to  the 
circuit  in  which  to  record  the  proceedings  of  the  Quarterly  Conference, 
Brother  Asa  Smith  was  requested  to  procure  a  book  for  that  purpose. 

A  book  was  procured  and  the  minutes  recorded  therein;  the  hand- 
writing was  that  of  Brother  Solomon  Sharp,  and  the  minutes  of  the  sub- 


DOROTHY   REGER. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  9 

sequent  quarterly  conferences,  down  to  the  year  [808,  appear  to  be  in 
the  same  hand-writing.  The  recorded  minutes  from  [808  down  to  the 
year  [816,  appear  to  be  in  the  hand-writing  of  Samuel   Harvey. 

In  the  year  1S16,  Samuel  Harvey  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference.  Prior  to  that  time  the  minutes  were  very  meagre, 
but  from  that  time  down  to  the  year  [831  they  are  very  full  and  com- 
plete, being  made  by  Brother  Harvey,  and  include  full  statements  in 
detail  of  the  finances,  showing  how  much  money  was  received  from 
each  charge  on  the  circuit;  and  how  expended.  Some  of  the  reports  made 
by  the  estimating  committee  as  to  how  much  the  Circuit  Preachers 
would  need  for  the  support  of  themselves  and  their  families,  would  sound 
almost  like  a  romance  to  some  of  the  Brethren  in  the  ministry  at  the 
present  day.  There  is  also  recorded  in  the  minutes  referred  to,  several 
trials  of  Local  Preachers  and  of  private  members,  for  violating  the  rules 
or  discipline  of  the  Church;  showing  clearly  that  the  official  boards 
cared  more  for  the  good  of  the  Church  and  its  moral  standing  in  the 
community  than  for  the  good  will  or  friendship  of  persons  of  doubtful 
morality.  Brother  Harvey  also  recorded  in  said  book  a  tabulated  state- 
ment of  the  preachers,  Presiding  Elders  and  membership  of  the  circuit, 
beginning  with  the  year  17^4,  and  ending  with  the  year  1S18;  and  con- 
tinued the  list  of  preachers  and  elders  down  to  the  year  1S41. 

On  March  27th,  1812,  Brother  Samuel  Harvey,  having  been  recom- 
mended by  the  Quarterly  Conference,  was  ordained  1  leacon.  He 
served  the  Church  faithfully  for  main-  years  as  preacher,  class  leader 
and  trustee,  down  to  the  time  of  his  decease.  He  was  a  strict  discipli- 
narian, of  a  conservative  nature,  yet  very  liberal,  and  gave  largely  of 
his  means  towards  the  Church  and  her  enterprises;  and  to  his  financial 
aid  in  times  of  need  and  his  general  liberality,  the  Church  is  largely 
indebted  for  her  success. 

When  the  Bank  of  Germantown  was  chartered  in  the  year  1S14,  he 
was  elected  President  of  the  same,  and  continued  to  hold  that  office 
down    to  the    time    of   his  death.     Under  his  judicious  management  the 


io  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

bank  was  enabled  to  pull  through  many  financial  and  commercial 
crisises,  coming  out  of  them  all  with  her  capital  unimpaired  and  her 
credit  as  a  banking  institution  always  standing  A  No.  i. 

Brother  Harvey  was  born  on  June  16th,  1770,  and  after  a  very 
short  illness,  died  on  March   3rd,  1848. 

In  the  year  1818,  an  addition  was  built  on  the  northeastern  side 
of  the  Meeting-house  twenty  by  thirty  (20x30)  feet,  thus  making  the 
whole  building  thirty  by  forty  (30x40)  feet. 

Shortly  after  the  erection  of  the  first  Meeting-house,  the  mother  of 
the  writer  of  this  was  a  passenger  in  the  stage  coach  going  from  Ger- 
mantown  to  Philadelphia.  Colonel  Forest,  a  reputable  gentleman,  was 
also  a  passenger  in  the  same  coach.  He  addressed  the  lady,  with  whom 
he  was  very  well  acquainted,  as  follows:  "Well,  Betsey,  they  tell  me 
that  you  have  joined  the  Methodists,"  and  upon  her  replying  in  the 
affirmative,  he  replied,  "I  am  sorry  to  hear  that,  for  if  the  Methodists 
once  get  a  foothold  in  Germantown,  all  the  devils  in  hell  will  not  be  able 
to  root  them  out."  She  replied  that  he  was  paying  the  Methodists  a 
great  compliment;  and  that  she  hoped  they  never  would  be  rooted  out. 
This  incident  shows  the  feeling  entertained  at  that  day  by  many  other- 
wise good  and  respectable  citizens  in  regard  to  the  Methodists. 

in  those  days  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  religious  services 
of  the  congregation  to  be  disturbed  by  disorderly  persons,  some  of  whom 
were  from  respectable  families,  and  the  preachers  annoyed  and  insulted 
whilst  passing  along  the  streets  of  the  town.  Sometimes  the  offending 
parties  received  more  than  they  bad  calculated  upon.  An  amusing  inci- 
dent of  this  nature  occurred  during  the  time  that  Brothers  Asa  Smith  and 
Daniel  Ireland  were  on  the  circuit.  One  day  Brother  Smith  was  pass- 
ing along1  the  Main  street,  near  where  Armat  street  is  now  opened,  when 
he  heard  some  one  calling  out,  "Brother  Smith,  Brother  Smith."  He 
looked  around  but  saw  no  one.  Presently,  the  head  of  a  young  man  by 
the  name  of  Wolf,  bobbed  up  from  behind  a  board  fence,  when  Brother 
Smith    called    out:     "Well,   what   do    you    want?"     The    young    man 


JACOB  REGER. 


METHODISM  IN  GFRMANTOWN.  13 

answered,  "They  tell  me  the  devil  is  dead,  is  it  true?"  Brother  Smith 
replied,  "How  natural  it  is  for  children  to  inquire  after  their  parents," 
and  passed  on. 

In  the  spring  of  1819,  the  number  of  members  on  Bristol  Circuit,  as 
reported  to  the  Annual  Conference,  was  five  hundred  and  sixteen  (516) 
whites,  and  twenty-six  (26)  colored  ;  total,  five  hundred  and  forty- 
two  (542),  composed  as  follows: 

Germantown,  five  classes 152 

Union 14 

Bethel 17 

Smith's 8 

Mufley's 20 

Pursell's •••...  12 

Doylestown 13 

St.  James  I  now  OIney),  two  classes ^4 

Holmesburg 27 

Langstroth's 27 

Pennsville ■   ■ 20 

Dolington 17 

Swamp 20 

Attleborough 19 

Fatsington 29 

Joseph  White's 26 

Bensalem 45 

Bristol 16 

Milestown 6 

In  February,  1828,  the  membership,  as  reported,  was  six  hundred 
and  thirty-four  (634);  this  did  not  include  a  class  at  Montgomery  Square 
and  one  at  Frankford,  which  were  then  regular  appointments  on  the 
circuit;  as  was  also  Supplee's,  Morrisville,  Falls  of  Schuylkill  and  Mana- 
yunk.  A  full  report  of  the  membership  was  made  to  the  Quarterly 
Conference,  held  at  Bristol  on  May  17th,  [828. 

On    May    13,  1809,  a    sister    was    expelled   from   the   Church,  the 


i4  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

charge  against  her  being  slandering  a  brother  by  calling  him  a  ''cut- 
throat," which  charge  was  fully  proved. 

At  a  Quarterly  Conference  held  at  Bensalem,  on  March  27th,  1812, 
a  charge  was  preferred  by  a  brother,  a  Local  Preacher,  against 
another  brother,  also  a  Local  Preacher,  charging  him  with 
gross  immorality  and  falsehood.  The  charge  contained  eleven 
counts.  1.  Falsehood  in  selling  land;  2.  Prevaricating  in  the  purchase 
of  wood;  3.  Deception  in  overrating  his  goods  for  sale;  4.  Withholding 
lawful  hire  from  an  employee;  5.  Improper  language  at  a  prayer  meet- 
ing by  repeating  audibly  three  times  during  a  prayer  by  a  sister,  "Death 
in  the  pot,"  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer  saying,  "Well  done, 
Betty;"  6.  Speaking  irreverently  of  prayer  meetings,  saying,  "He  did  not 
know  but  what  he  would  as  soon  be  in  hell  as  in  our  prayer  meetings;" 
7.  Purchasing,  without  necessity,  goods  on  the  Sabbath-day;  8.  Decep- 
tion in  selling  goods  by  short  weight;  9.  Taking  stone  belonging  to 
another  person  without  permission  of  the  owner;  10.  Improperly 
endeavoring  to  separate  his  son  from  his  wife;  11.  Knowingly  selling  a 
piece  of  land  for  a  quantity  more  than  it  contained;  also  representing 
the  number  of  shingles  in  the  roof  of  a  house  to  be  much  greater  than 
the  actual  number.  Said  charges  having  been  investigated  by  a  com- 
mittee appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  witnesses  examined  by  them,  the 
committee  reported  that  nearly  all  of  the  charges  were  fully  sustained, 
and  recommended  that  the  brother  be  expelled  from  the  Church;  and  in 
conformity  with  said  report,  he  was  expelled. 

At  a  Quarterly  Conference,  held  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1810,  Nathan  Supplee,  Stephen  Wright  and  Samuel  Harvey  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to 
furnish  fuel  and  the  table  expenses  for  the  families  of  the  preachers;  and 
at  a  Quarterly  Conference,  held  at  Germantown,  February  22d,  1817, 
said  Committee  reported  as  follows,  viz:  For  the  family  of  each  preacher,. 

Five  cords  of  wood,  @  $9 $  45  00 

Four  hundred  pounds  of  pork  (&  gc 36  00 


SAMUEL   HARVEY. 


MHTHOD1SM  IN  GHRMANTOWN.  17 

Two  hundred  pounds  of  beef,  (2  8c $16  00 

One  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  fresh  meat,  (''  8c 1200 

One  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  sugar,  (»>  i=;c 1800 

Fifty-two  pounds  of  coffee,  ("  2t;c 13  co 

One  hundred  pounds  of  butter.  (»    25c 25  00 

Ten  bushels  apples,  ("  ^cc 5  00 

Milk,  $6;  soap,  candles  and  salt,  $20 26  00 

Twelve  cwt.  of  flour,  @  $5 60  co 

Five  gals,  of  Molasses,   $q;  eighteen  bushels  of  potatoes.  $g  .    .  14  00 

Total $270  00 

Said  report  was  accepted  and  laid  over  for  future  action,  and  at  a 
Quarterly  Conference,  held  September  5th,  1817,  said  report  was  taken 
up,  when  a  resolution  was  passed  in  accordance  with  the  recommenda- 
tion of  said  committee,  that  the  married  preachers  on  the  circuit  shall  be 
allowed  each,  two  hundred  and  seventy  (270)  dollars,  for  family  expen- 
ses; said  amounts  to  be  raised  by  the  stewards  by  such  means  as  they 
may  devise;  but  not  to  be  taken  from  the  moneys  collected  for  the 
regular  quarterly  allowance  of  the  preachers. 

The  allowance  at  that  time  was,  for  each  preacher,  $100  per  year; 
for  his  wife,  $100  per  year;  and  for  each  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  $6  per  year.  This  continued  to  be  the  rate  of  compensa- 
tion down  to  the  year  1831,  when  an  additional  allowance  was  made  for 
house  rent,  not  to  exceed  $60  per  year,  and  feed  for  a  horse.  And  this 
amount  remained  the  same  down  to  the  year  1836. 

In  December,  1812,  the  Society  purchased  from  the  heirs  of  Casper 
Heft,  a  lot  or  piece  of  ground,  situate  on  the  southeast  side  of  Pickius 
Lane  (now  Haines  street),  on  which  lot  the  present  Church  building 
stands  (1895).  The  lot  was  about  132  feet  front,  by  172  feet  in  depth. 
(See  deed  from  Mary  Heft  et  al.  to  Samuel  Harvey,  Alexander  Provost, 
George  Dannenhower,  Samuel  Keyser,  and  Samuel  Harmer,  Trustees, 
in  trust  for  the  Methodist  Church.  Deed  dated  Decembor  31st,  1812, 
recorded  at  Philadelphia,  in  Deed  Book  I.  C,  No.  27,  page  621,  etc.) 


18  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

In  the  years  182 1  and  1822,  Manning  Force  and  Phineas  Price  were 
the  preachers  in  charge,  and  were  very  much  liked.  They  were  Pas- 
tors in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Brother  Force  was  one  of  the  most 
lovable  men  that  ever  entered  the  ministry.  The  children  would  run 
after  him  on  the  street,  and  would  call  out,  "Brother  Force,  Brother 
Force,  how  do  you  do?"  And  for  years  after  having  removed  from 
Germantown  to  other  fields  of  labor,  the  doors  of  almost  every  dwelling 
in  Germantown,  whether  they  were  professors  of  religion  or  not,  were 
thrown  open  to  him.  He  would  enter,  converse  with  them  for  a  few 
minutes,  offer  up  a  prayer  and  pass  on. 

In  the  years  1822  and  1823,  Jacob  Gruber  and  Daniel  Fidler  were 
the  Circuit  Preachers.  Brother  Gruber  was  a  very  peculiar  man,  and 
many  anecdotes  of  his  peculiarities  and  eccentricities  might  be  related. 
He  continued  to  make  his  home  in  Germantown  for  a  number  of  years 
after  his  appointment  to  other  fields  of  labor.  He  was  ever  ready  with 
an  answer  to  any  question  propounded  or  addressed  to  him.  On  one 
occasion,  after  leaving  the  circuit,  he  was  passing  along  the  Main  street, 
when  a  man  who  was  somewhat  intoxicated,  called  out  in  a  maudlin 
voice,  "How  are  you,  Brother  Gruber?"  He  turned  around,  and  seeing 
no  one,  asked,  "Did  anybody  call  me?"  The  reply  came,  "Yes,  1  did." 
Then  Brother  Gruber  asked,  "Who  are  you?"  and  received  for  an 
answer,  "Don't  you  know  me?"  He  said,  "No,  I  don't."  Then  came 
the  reply,  "You  ought  to,  for  you  converted  me."  Brother  Gruber 
replied,  "Ah,  ah,  it  looks  like  one  of  my  jobs;  for  if  the  Lord  had  con- 
verted you  He  would  have  made  a  better  job  of  it." 

At  a  camp  meeting,  at  which  Brother  Gruber  was  present,  the 
preachers  were  much  annoyed  by  men  and  women  standing  on  the  seats. 
They  appealed  to  them  to  get  down.  The  men  generally  complied;  the 
women  did  not.  Brother  Gruber,  after  addressing  them  as  young  ladies, 
young  women,  and  gals,  said,  in  a  loud  voice,  "If  those  gals  knew  what 
big  holes  are  in  their  stockings,  I  think  they  would  get  down."  This 
had  the    desired   effect.     Afterward   a  brother  preacher  said  to  Brother 


THE  FIRST  METHODIST  CHURCH  IN  GERMANTOWN. 


METHODISM  IN  GHRMANTOWN.  21 

Gruber,  "How  did  you  know  that  there  were  holes  in  their  stocking 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "1  guess  there  must  be,  or  how  did  they  get  their 
feet  in  them?" 

On  one  occasion  a  person  by  the  name  of  John  Neil,  who  worked 
for  Brother  Samuel  Keyser,  and  who  would  frequently  get  drunk', 
appealed  to  Brother  Keyser  to  know  if  he  could  not  do  something  that 
would  cure  him  of  this  had  habit.  Brother  Keyser  referred  him  to 
Brother  Gruber,  saying,  "He  will  give  you  something,  which,  if  you  will 
take  it,  will  cure  you."  John,  who  knew  Brother  Gruber  well,  went  to 
Brother  Gruber,  who  had  frequently  talked  to  him  about  his  habits,  and 
told  his  errand.  Brother  Gruber  said  to  him,  "Well,  John,  1  don't  know 
about  it.     I  am  afraid  you  will  not  do  as  I  tell  you." 

"Will  it  hurt  me?"  asked  John. 

"No." 

"Will  it  make  me  sick?" 

"No;  well,  yes,  maybe  you  will  feel  a  little  sick  for  a  short  time; 
but  it  won't  hurt  you.     It  is  not  dangerous." 

"Well,  Brother  Gruber,  give  it  to  me  and  I'll  try  it." 

"Well,  John,  when  you  see  a  cup,  or  a  tumbler,  or  a  bowl  that  has 
beer,  wine,  cider,  or  whisky  in  it,  and  you  take  it  up  to  drink,  lift  it 
towards  your  mouth,  and  do  so" — suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  and 
opening  wide  his  hand. 

In  the  year  1823,  the  Society,  finding  their  Meeting-house  too 
small  to  accommodate  the  congregation,  determined  to  build  a  new 
church  on  the  lot  last  above-mentioned,  and  proceeded  to  erect  thereon 
a  stone  church  building.  This  building  was  about  forty-five  by  fifty-five 
(45x55)  feet  in  the  clear,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  in  the 
same  year,  at  which  time  Brothers  Jacob  Gruber  and  Daniel  Fidler  were 
the  preachers.  The  new  edifice  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God  early  in  the  year  1824,  at  which  time  Brothers  William 
Williams  and  Thomas  Davis  were  the  Circuit  Preachers. 

In  November,  1823,  the  congregation  instructed  the  Trustees  to  sell 


22  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

the  old  Meeting-house  and  lot  of  ground  upon  which  it  stood,  and  on 
March  27th,  1827,  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  authorized  the  Trus- 
tees of  said  church  to  sell  the  same. 

In  the  year  1825,  Edward  Stout  and  Samuel  Grace  were  the  Circuit 
Preachers,  and  for  part  of  the  year,  Robert  Gerry  was  their  assistant. 
In  the  year  1826,  Edward  Stout  and  Samuel  Carey  were  the  Circuit 
Preachers.  Brother  Stout  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  was  much 
grieved  over  the  apathy  and  apparent  want  of  spiritual  life  and  activity 
on  the  part  of  many  of  the  members;  and  believing  this  state  of  affairs 
to  be  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  neglect  of  the  members  to  attend  their 
class  meetings,  which  at  that  time  was  a  duty  enjoined  by  the  discipline, 
and  having  endeavored  during  the  greater  part  of  his  pastorate  to 
awaken  the  membership  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  and  the  deleterious 
effects  of  their  luke-warmness  and  neglect  of  duty,  without  any  or  very 
little  apparent  success,  he  began  to  apply  the  pruning  knife  with  a  liberal 
hand,  and  dropped  from  the  roll  of  membership  the  names  of  many  who 
at  one  time  had  been  prominent  and  active  members  of  the  Church.  This 
course  gave  great  offense  to  the  friends  of  the  members  whose  names  had 
thus  been  dropped,  and  they,  through  sympathy,  withdrew  from  the 
Church.  This  course,  on  the  part  of  Brother  Stout,  was  warmly  com- 
mended by  some  and  condemned  by  others,  but  the  good  effects  thereof 
were  soon  made  apparent. 

In  1827,  Henry  G.  King  and  Robert  Lutton  were  appointed  to  the 
circuit,  and  the  spirituality  of  the  Church  began  to  show  signs  of  improve- 
ment; and  in  the  year  1828,  under  the  ministry  of  Henry  G.  King  and 
James  B.  Ayers,  a  gracious  revival  broke  out  and  many  new  members 
were  received  into  the  Church;  and  nearly  all  of  those  whose  names 
had  been  dropped,  or  who  had  withdrawn  through  sympathy  for  them, 
were  again  received  into  the  Church. 

The  writer  of  this  has  frequently  asked  himself  the  following  ques- 
tion: "What  has  the  Church  gained  by  abolishing  the  rule  making 
attendance  on  class  meetings  a  test  of  membership?" 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  23 

In  the  year  1829,   Thomas  Neil  and  Nathaniel  Chew  were  the  circuit 

preachers;  and  in  1830,  Thomas  Neil  and  Manlove  Hazel  were  the 
preachers.  Brother  Neil  was  a  muscular  man  and  a  strong  preacher;  1 
know  of  no  other  term  that  so  nearly  expresses  my  opinion  of  the  man. 
He  had  the  happy  faculty  of  explaining  the  Scriptures  and  applying  them 
to  every  day  life. 

The  following  is  an  illustration  of  his  manner  of  preaching  :  On  one 
occasion,  after  he  had  left  the  circuit,  he  visited  a  camp  meeting  held  on 
the  circuit.  He  was  invited  to  preach  and  consented;  but  before  the 
hour  arrived  for  him  to  speak  he  asked  to  be  excused  until  the  next  day, 
and  was  excused.  At  this  camp  we  had,  for  the  tisrt  time,  a  large  tent, 
made  for  the  purpose  of  holding  prayer  meetings;  on  the  front  were 
the  words  "Union  of  Germantown." 

The  next  day  Brother  Neil  was  ready  to  keep  his  engagement.  After 
the  singing  of  the  opening  hymn  and  prayer,  when  he  arose  from  his  knees, 
and  before  announcing  his  text,  he  stated  that  whilst  on  his  way  to  the 
grounds  he  had  determined,  if  called  upon  to  preach,  to  speak  from  a 
certain  passage  of  Scripture,  which  he  then  read,  and  stated  that  he  had 
selected  the  opening  hymn  with  the  intention  of  using  the  passage  just 
read  for  his  text,  but  that  he  could  not  do  so;  and  the  passage  as 
recorded  in  the  26th  chapter  of  Numbers  had  made  an  impression  upon 
his  mind  which  he  could  not  remove.  The  passage  referred  to  the 
encampment  of  the  Israelites.  He  then  said:  ''What  1  have  to  say  will 
be  founded  on  this  passage.  1  will  not  attempt  to  divide  it,  for  I  do 
not  know  how."  Then  looking  around  the  encampment,  he  remarked, 
''This  is  the  first  camp  meeting  that  I  have  ever  attended  where  the 
tents  were  pitched  in  squares,  and  not  in  circles;  and  in  that  respect, 
this  resembles  the  Israelitish  'amp.''  He  then  described  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Israelitish  camp  by  tribes,  with  the  tabernacle  in  the  centre; 
then  pointing  first  to  one  tent  and  then  to  another,  he  said,  "There  I  see 
the  tribe  from  Bensalem,  there  from  Busselton.  there  from  Frankford, 
there  from  Holmesburg,  and  there  from  Germantown,  with  the  sign  out, 


24  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

'Union.'  How  is  it  brethren?  You  have  union  on  the  outside;  have 
you  union  inside?"  And  then,  pointing  to  Brother  Ralph  Byram,  he 
addressed  him  thus:  "Brother  Byram,  don't  you  remember  when  I 
preached  at  Germantown,  years  ago,  how  you  would  stretch  out  your 
long  arms  and  open  wide  your  mouth  to  catch  the  blessing?  How  is  it 
now?"  The  response  was,  "Hallelujah!  Glory!  Ihaveityet!"  "And 
here  in  the  centre  is  the  Tabernacle."  He  then  described  the  manner  of 
service,  the  blowing  of  the  horn  in  the  early  morning,  and  the  gathering 
of  the  manna,  and  gave  the  essentials  as  follows,  viz:  "First,  every  man 
must  gather  for  himself;  no  one  could  gather  for  his  neighbor,  and  each 
gathered  according  to  his  needs  or  capacity — every  man  having  an  omer, 
but  not  all  of  the  same  size.  So  with  our  hearts.  Second,  the  vessel 
or  omer  must  be  clean  and  pure,  not  tainted,  or  the  manna  would  be 
spoiled,  lost.  So  with  the  hearts  of  the  hearers;  they  must  be  cleansed 
from  all  sin  and  defilement,  or  they  would  not  hold  the  heavenly  food. 
Third,  they  must  come  to  the  feast  prepared  for  them  and  sent  down 
from  Heaven,  with  their  vessels  right  side  up.  Fourth,  they  must  be 
humble  and  willing  to  get  down  on  their  knees,  as  little  children,  in  order 
to  gather  up  the  manna." 

Then,  branching  out,  he  said,  "Suppose  that  Moses  had  sent  out  his 
assistants  during  the  night  time,  whilst  the  people  were  asleep,  and 
ordered  them  to  chain  a  part  of  the  multitude  fast  to  the  posts  of  their 
tents,  with  irresistible  decrees  and  the  lock  and  key  of  fore-ordination 
and  pre-destination,  and  then  in  the  morning,  when  the  horn  blew  for 
them  to  come  out  of  their  tents  and  partake  of  the  food  which  God  had 
provided  for  them,  and  they  did  not  come  because  they  could  not,  he 
had  said  to  them:  'If  you  do  not  come  you  shall  surely  die,'  what  would 
you  have  thought  of  Moses?  And  now,  do  you  think  that  God  can  be 
so  unjust  as  to  say  to  all  the  world,  'Come  unto  Me  and  you  shall  be 
saved,'  when  He  had  fore-ordained  that  a  certain  part  of  mankind  should 
be  doomed  to  eternal  banishment  from  His  presence?  No,  no,  God  is  a 
just    God,  and    good.     He    so    loved   the  world  that   He   gave  His  only 


FIRST  M.  E.  CHURCH,  HAINES  STREET,  GERMANTOWN. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  27 

begotten  Son  to  die  for  us,  in  order  that  whosoever  will  come  to  Him 
shall  be  saved." 

At  a  Quarterly  Conference  held  at  Bristol,  on  June  iSth,  [831,  a 
resolution  was  offered,  declaring  it  to  be  the  sense  oi  said  Conference 

thatthe  circuit  should  be  divided;  and  at  a  Quarterly  Conference,  held 
at  Germantown,  March  10th,  [832,  said  resolution  was  approved,  and  a 

memorial  prepared  to  the  Annual  Conference,  requesting  them  to  divide 
the  circuit,  and  at  their  next  session  they  did  divide  it.  Germantown 
Circuit  was  then  formed,  embracing  the  following  appointments:  ( Jer- 
mantown,  Chestnut  Hill,  Manayunk,  St.  James  (Olney),  Smith's, 
Montgomery  Square,  Milltown,  Frankford,  Holmeshurg,  Bustleton, 
Goosetown,  Bethel,  Union  and  Jenkintown.  In  all  fourteen  14) 
appointments. 

The  first  Quarterly  Conference  for  Germantown  Circuit  was  held 
.it  Manayunk  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  May,  1832.  There  were  present 
at  that  conference  Manning  Force,  Presiding  Flder;  John  Finley, 
preacher-in-charge;  John  Nicholson,  assistant  preacher,  and  nine  class- 
leaders  and  stewards. 

In  March,  1S34,  the  Society  at  Germantown  was  incorporated  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  by  the  name  of  "The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Chlrch  in  germantown."  The  charter  was 
signed  by  James  Trimble,  Deputy  Secretary  of  State,  under  Governor 
George  Wolf,  on  the  eighth  day  of  May,  [834.  (See  Charter  Book,  No, 
5,  page  183,  &c,  at  Harrisburg.) 

(  )n  August  30th,  1834,  the  Trustees  deeded  the  property  on  which 
the  old  church  stood,  to  the  Church,  by  its  corporate  name,  Jacob  Reger 
and  Dorothy,  his  wife,  joining  in  the  Acc<\,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
an  omission  in  the  original  deed,  and  thus  perfecting  the  title.  (See 
[)wA  Book,  S.  H.  F.,  No.  6.  page  691,  Sec.) 

On  December  20th,  1836,  the  Church  sold  the  old  building  .\n^\  lot 
ot  ground  above-mentioned  to  Ann  Haines  for  S650. 


28  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Sunday-school,  I  find,  in  notes 
made   by  Brother  Joseph  Mason,  the  following: 

"In  the  year  1818  or  1819,  the  Rev.  John  Price,  one  of  the  Circuit 
Preachers  who  lived  in  Germantown,  was  accustomed  to  catechise  the 
children  on  'Saturday  Afternoons,'  and  appointed  as  assistants,  John  F. 
Watson  for  the  boys,  and  Ann  Bowman  for  the  girls;"  and  this,  he 
claims,  to  be  the  first  organization  of  the  Sunday-school. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1827,  John  Acuff  and  John  Flynn  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  forming  a  Sunday-school  in  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Church  of  Germantown;  and  Brother  Acuff  opened  his  house 
on  the  Main  street,  at  or  near  where  Mr.  Livzey's  hardware  store  now 
stands  (just  below  Centre  street),  for  that  purpose.  The  interest  in 
said  movement  and  the  attendance  at  the  school  was  so  gratifying  that 
the  Society  determined  to  have  a  regularly  organized  Sunday-school; 
and  at  a  meeting  of  the  members  and  friends  of  the  Church,  held  on 
May  28th,  1828,  in  the  church,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  expe- 
diency of  forming  a  Sunday-school,  it  was  resolved  to  organize  a  school. 
A  form  of  constitution  was  read  and  approved,  and  the  name  adopted 
was  "The  Sunday-school  of  Germantown,  Auxiliary  to  the  Sunday- 
school  Union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  The  following 
officers  were  then  elected,  viz:  Samuel  Keyser,  President;  Samuel 
Harvey,  Secretary  and  Treasurer;  William  Flynn,  John  Acuff,  Ralph 
Byram  and  Harmon  Osier,  Managers.  The  said  Board  of  Managers 
and  teachers  met  on  the  following  evening,  Thursday,  May  29th,  and 
adopted  a  set  of  rules  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  said  school. 
They  also  made  the  following  appointments,  viz:  John  Acuff,  William 
Flynn,  Ralph  Byram  and  Samuel  Keyser,  as  Superintendents. 

According  to  the  by-laws,  two  of  these  Superintendents  were  to  be 
present  at  the  opening  and  closing  of  every  session  of  the  school.  The 
following  named  teachers  were  also  appointed:  Harmon  Osier,  Samuel 
McDowell,  John  Bowman,  Horatio  Roop,  George  Wilson,  James  Harmer, 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

John  G.  Wolf,  Isaac  Glackins,  Joseph  Reger,  William  Glackins,  John 
Mankoff,  and  Richard  Sharpless;  in  all  twelve  males.  Females — Ann 
Peasley,  Mary  Byram,  Louisa  Sharpless,  Elizabeth  Butcher,  Sarah 
( ilackins,  Elizabeth  Shackelton,  Marian  Ferguson  and  Clarissa  Koop; 
in  all  eight  females.      Total,  twenty  teachers. 

The  school  being  thus  fully  organized,  they  commenced  their  regular 
sessions  on  June  15th,  ix_\s,  with  fifty-five  male  and  twenty-nine  female 
scholars. 

At  the  present  time  (January,  1895),  the  Church  has  three  Sunday- 
schools,  viz:  One  at  Blue  Bell,  one  at  the  East  Side  Mission,  Chelten 
avenue  and  Stenton  avenue,  and  one  at  the  Mother  Church.  The 
number  of  officers  and  teachers  of  the  three  schools  combined  is  78 
officers  and  teachers,  and  650  scholars  of  a  1  ages. 

In  the  year  1 S ^ 5 ,  the  Church  purchased  from  George  W.  Rose  .1 
stone  messuage  or  tenement,  and  lot  or  piece  of  ground,  adjoining  the 
lot  purchased  from  the  Heft  estate,  to  the  southwest.  This  lot  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  (132)  feet  front,  on  Haines  street,  by  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  (177)  feet  in  depth.  Thus,  the  entire  church 
lot,  at  that  time,  had  a  frontage  on  Haines  street  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty-four  (264)  feet,  and  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
1  --)  feet. 

In  [837,  Caleb  Lippincott  was  preacher-in-charge, assisted  by  M.  D. 
Curts;  and  in  1S38  Brother  Lippincott  was  preacher-in-charge,  assisted 
by  Silas  C.  Palmer.  Brother  Lippincott  was  a  large  man,  possessed  of 
great  physical  strength  and  ureat  force  of  character,  a  natural  orator  and 
a  sweet  singer.  Many  anecdotes  might  be  recorded  showing  his  strength 
of  body  and  will.  His  physical  strength  assisted  him  greatly  in  preserv- 
ing order  at  camp  meetings  and  other  places  where  the  rowdy  element 
was  inclined  to  be  troublesome. 

An  incident  connected  with  the  conversion  of  Brother  Lippincott,  as 
related  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Neil,  at  the  house  of  Sister  Elizabeth 
Thomas  (mother  of  the  writer),  in_the  presence  of  several  ministers  of 


30  METHODISM   IN  GERMANTOWN. 

the  Gospel,  of  whom  Brother  Lippincott  was  one,  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  whole-heartedness  of  the  man. 

Brother  Neil  was  preaching  at  or  near  Mt.  Holly,  N.  J.,  during  a 
season  of  revivals.  A  lady  of  that  neighborhood,  a  cousin  of  Brother 
Lippincott,  who,  like  himself,  was  of  Quaker  parentage,  presented  her- 
self at  the  altar  for  prayers.  Mr.  Lippincott  vowed  that  if  she  did  so 
again  he  would  take  her  from  the  altar  and  out  of  the  Meeting-house. 
And  with  that  object  in  view,  he,  with  several  of  his  companions,  went 
to  the  Meeting-house  one  evening  and  took  seats  in  the  gallery.  After 
the  sermon,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  prayer-meeting,  some  of 
the  brethren  informed  Brother  Neil  of  what  Mr.  Lippincott  had  threat- 
ened to  do.  Upon  the  invitation  being  given,  the  young  lady  went  for- 
ward to  the  altar.     Brother  Neil  said  to  the  brethren: 

"Go  on  with  your  singing,  and  leave  Mr.  Lippincott  to  me." 

Shortly  after,  Mr.  Lippincott  arose  from  his  seat,  descended  to  the 
main  floor,  and  marched  up  toward  the  altar.  Brother  Neil  saw  him 
coming,  and  stepped  in  front  of  the  rail  to  meet  him.  Mr.  Lippincott 
dodged  him,  and  knelt  near  the  end  of  the  altar,  and  began  to  pray  in 
great  earnestness  for  his  own  salvation.  In  his  excitement  he  got  flat  on 
his  back,  with  his  feet  toward  the  altar  and  sometimes  on  top  of  the 
altar  rail,  and  in  a  loud  voice  cried  out:  "Now,  Lord,  do  your  best;  con- 
vert my  soul  if  you  can!"  And  continued  to  pray  in  that  strain  until  he 
was  happily  converted,  his  after  life  proving  that  his  conversion  was 
genuine.  He  had  the  happy  faculty  of  interesting  his  hearers,  children 
as  well  as  grown  persons,  and  securing  their  attention  whilst  he  was 
speaking. 

On  one  occasion  our  Sunday-school  had  their  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
bration in  the  woods  near  what  is  now  known  as  Scatchard's  Mill. 
When  Brother  Lippincott  arose  to  address  the  children,  after  a  few 
remarks,  which  the  children  all  enjoyed,  he  pointed  toward  the  edge  of 
the  woods  and  called  out,  "Boys,  what  kind  of  a  tree  is  that?"  Many 
of  them  answered,  "A  cherry  tree." 


Ml   I  IK  >hlS.\\  IN   <  iERMANK  >WN.  Jl 

"Are  you  sun?" 

"\  o,"  was  the  ans\A  er. 

"How  do  you  know  that  it  is  a  cherry  tree?" 

"Why,  we  see  cherries  on  it." 

"Yes,  that's  so.      'By  the  fruit  you   know   it.'     Arc  they 
cherries  and  tit  to  eat?" 

"No,  sir;  not  now." 

"Why?" 

••  Because  they  are  not  ripe." 

"Well,  do  you  think  when  they  get  ripe  that  they  will  be  as  sweet 
and  as  good  as  the  cherries  that  grow  in  Grandfather  Keyser's  garden?" 

"No." 

"Why  not?"     No  answer. 

Then  he  explained  to  them  that  it  was  for  want  of  proper  cultivation 
and  care  and  because  the  tree  was  surrounded  by  forest  trees  and  that 
the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  fresh  breezes  had  not  the  same  effect 
on  it  as  they  would  have  if  it  stood  in  a  more  favorable  position.  He 
then  asked,  "How  do  you  think  that  tree  got  there?"  and  not  getting  a 
satisfactory  answer,  he  asked  them  whether  they  thought  a  crow  or 
hawk  or  buzzard  had  planted  it  there.  They  answered  "No."  He  then 
went  on  to  say,  "  Well,  boys,  I'll  tell  you  how  I  think  it  got  there. 
Perhaps  a  blue  bird,  or  a  robin,  or  a  Tom-tit  or  a  Jenny  wren  may  have 
plucked  a  cherry  from  a  tree  in  your  grandfather's  garden,  and  flying 
away  with  the  cherry,  it  rested  on  the  fence,  or  one  of  those  cedar 
bushes,  or  tall  forest  trees,  and  after  eating  the  pulp,  dropped  the  seed, 
and  from  that  seed  sprang  up  the  tree.  Now  boys,  one  more  question, 
I  s.iul  that  a  wren,  a  Tom-tit  or  a  robin  may  have  dropped  the  seed. 
Now,  tell  me,  how  many  little  birds  or  crows  or  hawks  or  buzzards  would 
it  take  to  pull  that  tree  up  by  the  roots?" 

"They  can't  do  it." 

He  then  compared  the  teachers  ol  the  Sunday-school  to  the  little 
birds  dropping  the  seeds  of  the  fruit  of  the  Gospel  into  the  hearts  of  the 


32  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

children,  saying  for  their  encouragement,  that  although  the  children 
might  wander  away  from  churches  and  religious  influence,  and  be  sur- 
rounded by  forest  trees  of  wickedness  in  every  shape,  still,  the  marks  of 
their  training  would  be  felt  and  seen,  and  might  result  eventually  in  pro- 
ducing good  fruit;  and  that  all  the  crows,  hawks  and  buzzards  of 
infidelity,  atheism  and  scepticism  would  not  be  able  to  pluck  up  or 
destroy  the  seed  thus  planted  by  them. 

During  Brother  Lippincott's  ministry  there  was  the  greatest  revival 
ever  known  in  Germantown,  and  a  large  number  were  converted  and 
added  to  the  Church,  some  of  whom  are  still  living  and  are  members 
of  the  Church  in  good  standing  in  Germantown  and  elsewhere. 

In  January,  1844,  the  Church  determined  to  sell  the  house  and  part 
of  the  lot  of  ground  which  they  had  purchased  from  George  W.  Rose, 
and  appointed  Jacob  Ployd  and  Samuel  Y.  Harmer  a  committee  to 
make  sale  of  the  same,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  February,  1844, 
said  committee  reported  that  they  had  agreed  to  sell  to  Mr.  John  Smith 
the  house  and  a  lot  of  ground,  being  sixty-five  (65)  feet  front  by  one 
hundred  and  four  (104)  feet,  six  (6)  inches  in  depth,  for  nine  hundred 
($900)  dollars;  which  report  was  accepted  and  the  sale  approved;  and 
in  May,  1844,  tne  president  of  the  board  reported  that  the  sale  had  been 
consummated,  the  deed  executed  and  delivered,  and  that  the  treasurer 
had  received  five  hundred  ($500)  dollars  in  cash,  and  Mr.  Smith's  bond 
for  four  hundred  ($400)  dollars,  being  in  full  of  the  consideration  money. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  185 1,  Germantown  was  set  apart  as  a  sta- 
tion, and  a  new  circuit  formed,  called  Chestnut  Hill  Circuit,  and  Gasoway 
Oram    was   appointed  preacher    for    Germantown.      At   that    time  the 

station  had    12  class-leaders  and  members.     The    Sunday-school 

comprised  officers  and  teachers,  and  293  scholars. 

In  the  spring  of  1852,  George  D.  Bowen  was  appointed  preacher, 
and  served  two  years.  In  the  spring  of  1854,  Newton  Heston  was 
appointed  preacher,  serving  two  years. 

In  the  latter  part  of  Brother  Heston's  ministry,  the  subject  of  form- 


METHODISM  IN  Gl V  \\  \\ TOWN.  33 

ing  a  second  Methodist  Church  in  Germantown  was  agitated;  and  just 
before  the  close  of  the  Conference  year,  a  general  meeting  of  the  mem- 
bership was  called  fur  the  purpose  of  considering  the  expediency  of  form- 
ing a  new  church,  and  it  was  resolved  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  that 
the  time  had  arrived  when  there  should  be  a  second  Methodist  Church 
in  Germantown;  and  a  call  was  made  for  volunteers  to  form  the  new 
church.  To  this  call  forty  of  the  brethren  and  sisters  responded.  There 
was  quite  a  length)'  discussion,  in  regard  to  the  selection  of  a  locality 
for  the  new  church  enterprise.  It  was  finally  determined  that  it  should 
be  located  in  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  inasmuch  as  there  had  been, 
for  a  number  of  years,  a  Sunday-school  in  Spring  Alley,  and  other 
places  in  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  conducted  by  members  of  the 
Haines  Street  Church. 

At  the  Annual  Conference,  held  March,  1856,  the  new  organization 
was  recognized,  and  Newton  Heston  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  same; 
and  on  April  1,  1856,  the  new  church  was  fully  organized,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  ninety-six,  most  of  whom  had  been  members  of  the  Mother 
Church.  This  was  the  commencement  of  what  is  now  known  as 
"The  St.  Stephen's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

On  May  10th,  1858,  at  a  meeting  of  the  male  members  of  the 
church,  the  Trustees  were  authorized  to  have  the  old  church  torn  down 
and  a  new  one  erected  on  the  site.  And  on  June  2nd,  of  the  same  year, 
the  Trustees  decided  to  build  a  new  church  of  brick,  to  be  fifty-five  55 
feet  in  width  by  eighty  (80)  feet  in  depth,  with  an  end  gallery  in  the 
same;  and  awarded  the  contract  for  the  building  to  Messrs.  J.  A. 
&  G.  Binder,  for,  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  1  Si 2,000)  dollars,  which 
contract  was  subsequently  amended  on  account  of  the  addition  of  side 
galleries,   &c. 

The  corner-stone  of  this  building  was  laid  July  mth,  [858.  The 
services  were  conducted  by  the  Revs.  William  McCoombs,  preacher- 
in-charge,  Janus  Cunningham  and  William  H.  Brisbane.  The  lecture 
room    was    opened    tor    religious    services   on    Sunday,    January    2nd, 


34  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

1859;  the  morning  service  being  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Alfred  Cookman, 
afternoon  service  by  the  Rev.  Solomon  Higgins,  and  the  evening  service 
by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Alday. 

The  Trustees  held  their  first  meeting  in  this  church  on  February 
nth,  1859,  m  tne  basement. 

The  main  audience  room  was  formally  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God,  on  Sunday,  March  14th,  1859.  The  morning  service  was 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  Bishop  Scott,  the  afternoon  service  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Castle,  and  the  evening  services  by  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Bartine. 

BLUE  BELL  MISSION. 

On  Saturday  evening,  June  30th,  1877,  Brother  John  T.  Walker, 
a  class-leader  of  the  Haines  Street  Church,  had  his  class  to  meet  at  the 
house  of  Brother  Leadbeater,  in  the  village  of  Blue  Bell  Hill,  just  west  of 
the  Township  Line,  near  Walnut  lane.  The  class  continued  to  meet 
in  that  neighborhood  until  the  interest  manifested  by  persons  in  that 
vicinity  was  such  that  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  June,  1879,  a  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Brothers  Daniel  L.  Keyser,  R.  W.  P.  Goff, 
William  Benner,  William  Shelmerdine,  and  William  McArthur,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  a  lot  and  erecting  a  chapel  thereon.  They  secured 
a  lot  on  the  southwest  side  of  Wissahickon  avenue  above  Walnut  lane, 
upon  which  they  had  a  frame  chapel  erected,  which  building  was  opened 
for  religious  services  and  dedicated  on  Sunday,  October  19th,  1879;  tne 
proper  dedicatory  services  being  conducted  by  the  Presiding  Elder,  Rev. 
William  Swindells,  in  the  Haines  Street  Church.  Thus,  the  Blue  Bell 
Mission  was  formed,  and  is  to-day  in  a  fairly  prosperous  condition. 

EAST  SIDE  MISSION. 

On  Sunday,  July  18th,  1886,  a  Sunday-school  was  started  in  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Wm.  Walters,  on  Haines  street,  near  Stenton  avenue; 
and  shortly  afterward,  it  was  removed  to  and  met  in  the  house  of 
Brother    Chadwick,  on    Stenton  avenue,    above   Haines  street,   and  in 


CHELTEN  AVENUE  MISSION,  EAST  SIDE,  GERMANTOWN. 

FORMERLY    HAINES STREB1    MISSION. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOVW.  ;; 

November  of  that  year,  William  C.  Tullv  was  appointed  Superintendent. 

It  was  called  the  Forest  Hill  Sunday-school.  The  average  attendance  <>t 
scholars  at   that  time  was  forty-five. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1886,  a  lot  was  secured  on  Haines 
street,  near  Stenton  avenue,  and  a  chapel  building  erected  thereon.  This 
building  was  formally  dedicated  on  May  22nd,  [887;  and  Brother  William 
Mullen,  a  Supernumerary  Preacher,  was  requested  to  take  charge  of 
the  Mission,  which  he  did,  preaching  there  every  Sabbath-day,  morn- 
ing and    evening,  for    some  months. 

On  September  28th,  1887,  a  class  was  formed  in  connection  with 
this  Mission,  and  Brother  Henry  Hudson  appointed  the  leader. 

On  September  26th,  1890,  a  committee  which  had  been  previously 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  reported  that  they  were  nogotiating  for  a  lot 
at  the  corner  of  Stenton  avenue  and  Chelten  avenue;  and  on  December 
26th,  1890,  the  committee  reported  that  they  agreed  to  purchase  a 
lot,  having  a  front  of  ninety  (90)  feet  on  Stenton  avenue  by  a  depth  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  (  150)  feet  on  Chelten  avenue,  for  the  sum  of  three 
thousand ($3000)  dollars;  and  on  April  16th,  1891,  the  committee  reported 
that  they  had  closed  the  bargain  and  obtained  a  AcvA  for  the  lot,  by 
paying  one  thousand  (Si.oocn  dollars  in  cash,  and  giving  a  mortgage  on 
the  lot  for  the  balance,  two  thousand  (£2,000)  dollars. 

In  June,  1891,  the  Presiding  Elder  requested  Brother  Rawlings  to 
look  after  the  interest  of  the  Mission,  which  he  did,  and  the  building 
was  removed  from  the  Haines  street  lot  to  the  one  last  purchased,  and 
an  addition  built  to  the  chapel  for  infant  school  purposes,  which  was 
completed  and  opened  for  the  infant  school  on  Sunday,  February  27th, 
1892. 

At  the  Annual  Conference,  held  in  March,  1892,  Brother  H.  A. 
(  ireaves  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  of  the  Haines  Street  Church; 
his  special  business  was  to  take  charge  of  this  Mission. 

At  the  Annual  Conference,  held  in  March,  [893,  Brother  A.  h. 
Shields  was  appointed  junior  pastor  to  succeed  Brother  Greaves. 


38  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

The  Mission  had,  on  January  ist,  1895,  a  Sunday-school  with 
20  officers  and  teachers  and  250  scholars.  It  is  now  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition and  the  probabilities  are  that  at  the  next  Annual  Conference, 
which  will  meet  in  March,  1895,  it  will  be  set  apart  as  a  separate  and 
distinct  charge. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  history  of  the  other  Methodist  Churches 
in  Germantown,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  say,  that  among  the  many 
useful  members  of  the  Haines  Street  Church,  no  layman  was  more 
prominent  than  Samuel  Keyser,  who  from  early  manhood,  down  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  was  a  faithful  member  and  served  the  Church  well  as 
a  Trustee,  and  in  whatever  capacity  he  was  called  to  act.  He  was 
generous  and  hospitable;  his  house  was  always  open  to  the  preachers 
and  to  the  members  from  other  places  who  would  visit  Germantown  on 
Quarterly  Meetings  and  other  special  occasions.  He  was  ever  ready  to 
help  the  needy;  he  was,  physically,  a  strong  man,  very  out-spoken  when 
occasion  required,  and  enjoyed  a  good  joke,  even  at  his  own  expense. 

On  one  Sunday  morning,  after  a  long  and  not  very  interesting 
discourse  by  the  preacher  who  occupied  the  pulpit,  and  who,  after  the 
close  of  the  regular  service,  was  about  to  make  some  "further  remarks," 
Brother  Keyser  arose  from  his  seat  and  was  about  to  leave  the  church, 
when  the  preacher  said,  "Just  one  minute  more." 

Brother  Keyser  stopped,  took  out  his  watch,  and  looking  at  it,  said, 
addressing  the  preacher,  "Hurry  up,  for  you've  been  talking  a  long 
while;  it  is  now  past  twelve  o'clock;  1  want  my  dinner,  and  I  think  the 
other  members  of  the  congregation  want  their's,  too."  The  preacher 
then  brought  his  remarks  to  a  close,  and  dismissed  the  congregation. 

Brother  Keyser  was  of  great  service  in  maintaining  order  in  and 
around  the  Meeting-house.  (At  that  time  it  was  not  considered  orthodox 
to  call  the  Methodist  Meeting-houses  "Churches.") 

On  one  occasion,  upon  entering  the  yard  of  the  old  Meeting-house, 
Brother  Keyser  found  quite  a  number  of  young  men  there,  among  whom 


SA.WUH     Kl  'i  -1  R. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  41 

was  Thomas  Lister,  Sr.,  then  in  his  teens,  and  a  comparative  stranger  in 
Germantown,  who  had  entered  the  yard  out  of  curiosity.  Brother 
Keyser,  supposing  that  they  were  there  for  the  purpose  of  disturbing  and 
annoying  the  congregation,  as  was  their  custom,  ordered  them  off  the 
premises.  Young  Lister,  not  moving  as  quickly  as  Brother  Keyser  thought 
he  should  have  done,  he  picked  him  up  bodily,  and  gently  landed  him  on 
the  other  side  of  the  fence. 

A  few  years  after  this,  Brother  Lister  was  converted  and  joined  the 
Church,  and  remained  a  member  of  the  same  and  a  consistent  Christian 
down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  March  19th,  1886.  He 
served  the  Church  faithfully  in  many  official  positions. 

A  number  of  Brother  Keyser's  children  joined  the  Church;  promi- 
nent among  them  was  Daniel  L.,  who  joined  in  early  manhood,  and 
remained  an  active  and  prominent  member  until  the  day  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  March  27th,  1884,  having  been  a  member  for  a  period 
of  nearly  fifty  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  for 
twenty-eight  years,  and  president  of  that  body  for  seven  wars,  which 
position  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

For  many  years  it  was  the  custom  for  a  member  of  the  Church  who 
was  a  good  singer,  to  lead  the  singing.  The  preacher  would  announce 
the  hymn,  and  then  read  it,  two  lines  at  a  time,  the  congregation  all 
joining  in  the  singing.  This  custom  was  afterward  modified  by  the 
selecting  of  a  leader,  whose  duty  it  was,  after  the  reading  of  the  hymn 
by  the  preacher,  to  take  his  place  in  front  of  the  altar  railing,  select  a 
tune,  and  lead  the  singing.  This  duty  was  performed  for  many  years 
by  Brother  Joseph  Channon,  who  was  a  class  leader,  and  one  of  the 
earliest  members  of  the  Church. 

In  the  year  1803,  instrumental  music,  in  the  shape  of  a  melodeon, 
was  introduced  into  the  Church.  To  this,  some  of  the  older  members  for 
a  time  objected;  among  the  objectors  was  Brother  Francis  D.  Tull,  an 
earnest  working  Christian,  and  for  many  years  a  Local  Preacher.  On 
one  occasion    he  said   to  the  writer  of  this,  "Brother  Thomas,  if  I  could 


42  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

hear  a  good  hearty  'Amen!'  or  'Glory  to  God!'  come  out  of  the  mouths 
of  the  people  whilst  the  organ  was  playing,  I  would  not  object  to  the  use 
of  an  organ  in  the  Church."  A  short  time  after  this  remark  Brother 
Tull  was  present  in  St.  Stephen's  M.  E,  Church,  when  Brother  Kenney, 
the  pastor,  was  preaching  a  memorial  sermon.  His  subject  was, 
"Heavenly  Recognition."  Just  as  Brother  Kenney  closed  his  remarks, 
the  choir,  accompanied  by  a  melodeon,  sang  "We  shall  know  each  other 
there."  The  presence  of  the  Lord  seemed  to  fill  the  house,  and  many 
of  the  members  began  to  shout.  Brother  Tull  caught  the  infection,  and 
with  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  and  his  whole  body  shaking  with 
emotion,  cried  out,  "Hallelujah!  Glory  to  God!"  This  ended  Brother 
Tull's  opposition  to  instrumental  music  in  church  service. 

Brother  Jacob  Ployd,  who  died  on  the  eleventh  day  of  May,  1885, 
was  another  faithful  member  of  the  Church  and  served  it  for  many 
years  as  a  Trustee  and  class-leader.  He  was  of  a  very  conservative 
nature,  modest  and  unassuming;  not  hasty  in  forming  an  opinion,  but 
very  firm  in  maintaining  his  views  and  position  as  to  what  he  regarded 
the  right.  He  was  ever  ready  to  assist  the  Church  in  any  way  or 
manner  that  he  could,  and  contributed  largely  toward  the  church 
improvements  and  its  finances  generally. 

Quite  a  number  of  others  might  be  named  who  were  prominent  in 
the  Church  and  have  passed  from  labor  to  reward. 

The  Haines  Street  Church  had  its  charter  amended  in  the  spring  of 
1893;  and  is  now  known  as  "The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Germantown."  It  has  furnished  the  itineracy  with  quite  a  number  of 
preachers,  among  whom  I  can  recall  the  names  of  James  Y.  Ashton, 
James  Harmer,  William  Mullen,  Thomas  C.  Murphy,  William  C.  Robin- 
son and  Samuel  Y.  Harmer,  some  of  whom  are  still  living. 

On  January  1st,  1895,  the  First  Church  had  a  membership  of  650; 
three  Sunday-schools  with  78  officers  and  teachers,  and  650  scholars. 

For  a  full  list  of  the  preachers  serving  in  this  charge,  see  Appendix. 


••?pf|,    jn  "*•'"" 


JACOB   PLOYD. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  4; 

HISTORY  OF  ST.  STEPHEN'S  M.   E.  CHURCH. 
On  Sunday  morning,  March  23rd,  1856,  an  informal  meeting  of  the 
following  named  brethren  (members  of  Haines  Street  M.  H.  Church), 

was  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob  B.  Thomas,  on  the  west  side  of  Wain 
street,  opposite  Centre  street,  Germantown,  viz: 

Jacob  B.  Thomas,  William  Spencer,  Sr.,  Charles  Spencer,  Jonathan 
Wolf,  William  G.  Spencer,  Joseph  Barrett  and  Robert  Thomas. 

At  this  meeting  the  expediency  of  starting  a  second  Methodist 
Church  was  discussed;  and  those  present  at  the  meeting,  having 
pledged  themselves  to  contribute  funds  sufficient  to  pay  a  preacher 
for  one  year,  should  the  Conference  send  us  one,  it  was  determined 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  membership  of  Haines  Street  Church,  to 
take  the  matter  into  consideration;  and  a  notice  for  said  meeting 
was    read    from   the  pulpit   the   same    day. 

In  pursuance  of  this  call,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  church  on 
Monday  evening,  March  24th,  1856;  at  which  meeting  there  was 
a  very  large  attendance  of  the  membership,  both  male  and  female. 
Brother  Jacob  B.  Thomas  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Jonathan 
Wolf  appointed  secretary. 

After  a  full  and  free  discussion,  it  was,  by  an  almost  unanimous 
vote,  determined  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
Church  to  furnish  the  people  of  Germantown,  desiring  to  enjoy  the 
privileges  and  blessings  of  Methodism,  with  greater  church  accommoda- 
tions; and  it  was  the  opinion  of  those  present  that  a  new  Church  should 
be  established  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  where,  for  a  number  of 
years,  there  had  been,  in  successful  operation,  a  Sunday-school  under 
the  care  of  Haines  Street  Church,  on  Spring  Alley,  near  Manheim  street; 
and  subsequently  at  other  places  in  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  under  the 
care  of  Brother  James  Tat  low*. 

\  all  was  then  made  for  volunteers  to  form  a  new  organization  to 
which  about  forty  responded — some  of  whom,  however,  did  not  join  the 
new  organization. 


46  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

The  following  brethren  were  then  appointed  a  committee  on  organi- 
zation, viz:  Rev.  William  Mann,  Charles  Spencer,  John  Campion, 
Robert  Thomas  and  William  G.  Spencer. 

This  committee  laid  the  matter  before  the  Annual  Conference,  which 
met  at  Philadelphia  in  March,  1856.  Their  action  was  approved  by  Con- 
ference, and  the  Rev.  Newton  Heston,  whose  second  year  at  Haines 
Street  Church  had  just  expired,  was  appointed  Pastor. 

Brother  Heston  was  a  very  popular  preacher,  and  drew  large 
congregations. 

The  committee  then  secured  the  large  room  in  the  Town  Hall  for  the 
use  of  the  congregation.  The  opening  services  were  held  in  said  hall  on 
Sunday,  April  6th,  1856. 

The  morning  service  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  James  Neil.  His 
sermon  was  from  the  text  contained  in  II  Timothy  i.  10. 

In  the  afternoon,  sermon  by  the  Rev.  G.  Dixon  Bowen,  from  Heb., 
vi.  19. 

Sermon  in  evening  by  the  Rev.  Penal  Coomb. 

The  Church  was  thus  fully  organized  with  a  membership  of  ninety- 
six,  a  majority  of  whom  had  been  members  of  Haines  Street  Church. 

The  first  Quarterly  Conference  was  held  at  the  house  of  Brother 
Charles  Spencer  on  April  22nd,  1856,  composed  as  follows:  Rev.  James 
Cunningham,  Presiding  Elder;  Newton  Heston,  Pastor;  and  the  follow- 
ing brethren,  viz:  William  Spencer,  Robert  Thomas,  William  G.  Spencer, 
Charles  Spencer,  Jonathan  Wolf,  John  D.  Caldwell,  and  Jacob  B. 
Thomas. 

At  this  conference,  the  following  brethren  were  appointed  Trustees: 
Jacob  B.  Thomas,  Jonathan  Wolf,  Robert  Thomas,  Charles  Spencer, 
William  G.  Spencer,  Samuel  H.  Collom,  Joseph  Barrett,  George  Jaggar 
and  John  D.  Caldwell. 

The  name  of  "St.  Stephen's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  was  then 
adopted. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  July  2nd,  1856,  it  was  announced 


ST.   STEPHEN'S  (OLD)  CHURCH. 


METHODISM  IN  ( ihRMANTOWN.  49 

by  the  Pastor  that  Brother  Charles  Spencer  had  resigned  from  the 
Board,  and  John  Campion  was  appointed  to  till  the  vacancy. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  August  9,  1856,  it  was  resolved 

to  build  a  brick  chapel,  situate  on  the  northeastern  side  of  the  Main 
street,  between  Jefferson  and  Bringhurst  streets,  purchased  from  Michael 
Trumbower,  as  per  dte^,  dated  June  4th,  1856,  recorded  in  Deed  Book, 
R.  D.  W.,  No.  81,  page  393,  &c,  the  title  to  the  same  being  taken  in 
the  name  of  Joseph  Barrett. 

A  building  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  ol  Rev.  Newton 
Heston,  Samuel  H.  Collom,  John  L).  Caldwell.  Jacob  B.  Thomas  and 
Jonathan  Wolf.  And  on  August  1 6th,  1856,  the  committee  reported  that 
they  had  a  proposition  from  Brothers  Samuel  H.  Collom  and  John  D. 
Caldwell,  to  build  a  chapel  in  accordance  with  the  plans  and  specifica- 
tions prepared  by  Edward  Heston  (father  of  the  Pastor,  the  Rev.  New. 
ton  Heston);  the  dimensions  to  be  forty-six  by  seventy  (46x70)  feet;  to 
be  set  cross-wise  on  the  lot,  with  the  view  of  building  at  some  future 
time  the  main  edifice  in  front  of  the  same,  thus  forming  a  "T."  The 
building  to  be  two-stories  in  height  above  the  cellar;  the  first,  or  main 
floor,  to  be  the  audience  room;  the  second  floor  to  be  divided  into  school 
and  class-rooms,  for  the  sum  of  six  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  dollars  and  fifteen  cents  ($6,937.15),  exclusive  of  the  cost  of 
furnaces  and  pipes  for  heating. 

The  report  was  approved  and  the  committee  instructed  to  enter  into 
a  contract  with  the  said  biethren  for  the  erection  of  the  building.  The 
corner-stone  of  this  new  building  was  laid  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
September   6th,   1856. 

On  September  15th,  1856,  the  Church  was  incorporated  under  the 
name  of  "St.  Stephen's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Germantown.'* 
On  October  1st,  1856.  an  election  was  held  for  nine  Trustees,  being  the 
first  election  held  under  the  charter,  when  the  following  brethren  were 
elected,    viz:   Jacob    B.  Thomas,  Robert    Thomas,   Jonathan   Wolf,  John 


5o  METHODISM   IN  GERMANTOWN. 

Campion,   Joseph     Barrett,    John    D.    Caldwell,    Samuel    H.    Collom, 
William  Carr  and  Charles  W.  Howe. 

The  church  was  opened  for  public  worship  on  Sunday,  December 
21st,  1856.  Sermon  in  the  morning,  by  Bishop  Levi  Scott.  Text,  Psl. 
cxxxvii.  5  and  6. 

Sermon  in  the  evening  by  the  Rev.  William  P.  Corbit.  The  amount 
raised  in  cash  and  reliable  subscriptions  during  the  day  was  $1325. 

At  the  Annual  Conference,  held  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  March 
25th,  1857,  Brother  Heston  reported,  full  members,  100;  probationers,  68. 
At  this  conference,  the  Rev.  William  H.  Elliott  was  appointed  Pastor  of 
the  church. 

The  first  church  building  of  St.  Stephen's  congregation  was  so 
exceedingly  plain  and  unlike  a  church  edifice  in  appearance,  that  it  was 
mistaken  by  strangers  passing  by  for  a  factory  or  mill  building.  When 
Brother  Elliott  first  brought  his  family  to  Germantown,  his  young 
daughter,  catching  a  view  of  the  church,  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  papa,  what 
factory  is  that?" 

"That,  my  daughter,"  he  replied,  "is  the  factory  that  1  am  going  to 
work  in." 

In  1866,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  John  Thompson,  it  was 
determined  to  erect  a  new  church  building;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
membership,  held  on  the  evening  of  June  21st,  1866,  it  was  unanimously 
resolved  to  erect  a  new  church  building  in  accordance  with  the  plans 
prepared  by  Samuel  H.  Collom,  and  the  Trustees  were  authorized  to 
proceed  with  the  work,  with  power  to  make  such  alterations  or  improve- 
ments as  they  might  deem  advisable. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  July  10th,  1866,  Robert  Thomas, 
Samuel  H.  Collom  and  Edwin  Markley,  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  renting  and  fitting  up  of  the  Market  House, 
situate  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Main  street,  above  Linden  street 
(now  Penn  street),  for  the  use  of  the  congregation,  pending  the  erection 
of  the  new  church  edifice.     At  the  same  meeting,  Samuel  H.  Collom  was 


REV.   NEWTON   HESTON. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  53 

awarded  the  contract  for  the  digging  of  the  foundation  and  doing  all  the 

masonry,  and  to  furnish  materials  therefor,  for  the  price  or  sum  of  seven 
thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  ($7,650)  dollars,  lie  to  have  the  material 
in  the  old  building.  He  was  also  authorized  to  employ  carpenter-,  and  to 
oversee  and  attend  to  the  other  parts  of  the  work,  upon  the  best  possible 
terms;  the  Trustees  to  furnish  the  lumher  and  hardware  for  the  same; 
and  Brothers  William  Hodson,  Smith  E.Hughes  and  Edwin  Markley 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  superintend  the  building. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  August  7th,  1866,  the  committee 
on  renting  Market  House  reported  that  they  had  taken  a  lea^e  of  the 
same,  at  a  rental  of  forty  ($40)  dollars  per  month,  with  the  privilege  of 
removing  therefrom  all  the  lumber  and  other  material  placed  therein  by 
the  Trustees  when  they  should  vacate  the  premises;  and  that  the  place 
was  then  ready  for  the  congregation.  The  first  public  service  was  held 
in  the  Market  House  in  the  same  month. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  building  was  laid  on  Wednes- 
day, October  7th,  1866,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  follow- 
ing brethren  took  part  in  the  exercises,  viz:  Revs.  T.  A.  Fernlev.  J.  W. 
Barnhard,  Curtis  F.  Turner,  and  the  Rev.  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson, 
who  announced  that  the  exxxii.  Psalm  would  be  read  by  the  Bishop  and 
congregation  responsively. 

The  Psalm  commences,  "Lord,  Remember  David,  in  all  his  afflic- 
tions." Then  followed  the  reading  of  the  third  chapter  of  tirst  Corinth- 
ians by  the  Rev.  James  E.  Meredith,  beginning  at  the  ninth  verse,  "For 
we  are  laborers  together  with  God."  This  was  followed  by  short 
addresses  by  Brother  Alfred  Cookman  .\n^.\  Bishop  Simpson. 

The  congregation  continued  to  worship  in  the  Market  House  until 
the  latter  part  of  November,  1867.  They  then  took  possession  of  the 
new  building,  although  it  was  in  an  unfinished  condition.  The  services  in 
tlie  Market  House  were  well  attended,  and  many  persons  were  converted 
therein,  and  joined  the  Church,  and  it  was  not  without  feelings  of  regret 


54  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

that  we  vacated  the  place.  The  music  rendered  by  our  choir  was  very 
attractive,  and  added  very  materially  to  the  success  of  the  Church. 

The  new  building  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of  Almighty  God  on 
Sunday,  December  ist,  1867.  The  morning  services  were  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  Jacob  Todd,  the  afternoon  services  by  the  Rev.  James  Neil, 
and  in  the  evening  the  Rev.  John  S.  Inskip,  of  the  New  York  Confer- 
ence, preached  a  sermon. 

In  the  morning,  Brother  John  Thompson  announced  that  the  Trus- 
tees needed  five  thousand  ($5,000)  dollars  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  building 
up  to  that  date.  At  the  close  of  the  evening  service,  it  was  announced 
that  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars  and  sixty  nine 
cents  ($5,264.69)  had  been  secured  in  cash  and  reliable  subscriptions. 
After  this  announcement,  Brother  Thomas  W.  Dyott,  in  behalf  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  presented  the  building  for  dedication.  The  dedica- 
tory services  were  conducted  by  Brothers  John  Thompson  (our  Pastor), 
John  S.  Inskip,  J.  E.  Meredith  and  Charles  Karsner. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  held  April  nth,  1871,  it  was 
resolved  to  finish  the  church  building,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
for  that  purpose;  and  on  December  17th,  1871,  the  Trustees  made  an 
agreement  with  Smith  E.  Hughes,  to  complete  the  building  (including  an 
end  gallery)  as  suggested  by  Brother  Cunningham  (who  was  at  that  time 
Pastor-in-charge),  for  the  sum  of  four  thousand  and  sixty-five  ($4,065) 
dollars. 

During  the  year  1881,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  T.  T.  Everett, 
the  lecture  room  and  class  rooms  in  the  basement  were  rearranged  and 
furnished  at  a  cost  of  about  four  thousand  ($4,000)  dollars. 

In  the  year  1889,  a  Mission  was  formed  and  a  Sunday-school  estab- 
lished on  the  west  side  of  Germantown,  at  the  corner  of  Penn  street  and 
Patton  avenue,  which  is  chiefly  under  the  care  of  the  young  people  of 
the  church,  and  has  been  self-sustaining.  The  Sunday-school  at 
present  meets  at  No.  405  Queen  street.  For  some  time  past  the  prayer 
meetings  have  been  discontinued. 


- 


T.  STEPHEN'S      NEW 

CHURCH. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  57 

A  lot  has  been  leased  for  the  use  of  the  Mis-ion  at  Penn  and  Morris 
streets,  and  they  contemplate  erecting  thereon  a  temporary  building 
early  in  the  coming  spring    1895 1. 

At  the  Annual  Conference,  held  at  Philadelphia  in  the  ( Jre<  n  Stit et 
M.  E.  Church,  March  nth,  1892,  Brother  A.  L.  Urban  reported  the 
strength  of  the  Church  as  follows,  viz:  Number  of  Sunday-schools,  2; 
officers  and  teacher-,  69;  scholars,  of  allages,  505;  number  of  probation- 
ers, 6;  full  members,  430.  At  that  conference,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Kynett 
was  appointed  Pastor.  His  pastorate,  up  to  the  present  time,  January  1  st, 
1895,  has  been  very  successful,  and  the  Church  has  to-day  on  her  rolls 
23  probationers  and  528  full  members;  2  Sunday-schools,  55  officers  and 
teachers  and  469  scholars  of  all  ages. 

St.  Stephen's,  from  the  day  of  its  organization  down  to  the  present 
time,  has  been  favored  and  blessed  with  an  excellent  choir,  most  of 
whom  were  and  still  are  communicant  members  in  good  standing  and 
faithful  workers  in  the  church  and  Sunday-school,  and  from  their  knowl- 
of  music  and  the  aptness  of  their  leaders  in  selecting  hymns  and 
tunes  appropriate  to  the  occasion  and  the  subject  selected  by  the  Pastor, 
they  have  been  and  still  are  a  great  help  to  the  Pastor,  and  add  ma- 
terially to  his  success.  In  the  estimation  of  the  writer,  there  is  no  more 
efficient  and  spiritually-minded  choir  within  the  limits  of  the  Philadelphia 
Conference. 

Some  of  the  former  leaders  and  members  of  the  choir  have  none  to 
their  reward  in  heaven,  to  join  with  the  angels  and  redeemed  spirits  in 
ascribing  "(dory  to  God  in  the  Highest." 

St.  Stephen's  M.  h".  Church  has  furnished  the  itineracy  with  a  num- 
ber or  preachers,  viz:  William  Macatee,  James  McFarland,  George  W. 
1  •  Gi    it.    Joseph  B.  (  .raff,  Cornelius  Hudson  and  Edson  W.  B.  Tatlow. 

For  a  list  of  the  preachers  serving  this  charge,  see  Appendix. 


58  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  HOUNT  PLEASANT  AVENUE  M.   E.   CHURCH. 

In  the  year  1854,  the  Rev.  Newton  Heston,  pastor  of  the  Haines 
Street  Church,  Germantown,  formed  a  class  and  Sunday-school  at  Mt. 
Pleasant;  their  place  of  meeting  was  a  second-story  room  in  a  frame 
building,  the  first  floor  of  which  was  used  as  a  cabinet-maker's  shop  by 
Andrew  Graver.  The  building  belonged  to  Erasmus  Pierce,  and  stood 
on  the  lot  of  ground  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  Main  street,  next 
southeastward  to  Jacob  Derr's  property.  For  a  time  the  class  and 
Sunday-school  were  well  attended,  and  arrangements  were  made  for 
preaching  services  to  be  held  on  Sundays  in  the  afternoons,  and  public 
prayer-meetings  one  evening  every  week'.  These  services  were  well 
attended,  being  conducted  generally  by  Local  Preachers  or  Exhorters 
from  Germantown.  The  prospect  at  that  time  was  very  good,  and  the 
membership  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  Methodism  at  Mt.  Airy 
would  be  permanently  established  and  which  they  thought  would  be  at 
no  very  distant  day;  in  this  for  a  time  they  were  disappointed. 

In  1856,  the  Church  at  Germantown  was  divided  and  a  new  con- 
gregation formed,  known  as  St.  Stephen's,  and  Brother  Heston  was 
appointed  to  that  charge.  From  that  time  forward  the  pastors  of  the 
churches  in  Germantown  seemed  to  have  lost  their  interest  in  the  Mt. 
Aiiw  Mission,  and  it  gradually  declined,  until  finally  upon  the  sale  of 
the  lot  and  the  building  in  which  their  meetings  were  held,  the  Mission 
was  abandoned  altogether. 

In  the  year  1874,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Mason,  pastor  of  the  Haines 
Street  Church,  formed  a  class  of  the  members  residing  at  or  near  Mt. 
Airv,  and  appointed  Brother  Gavin  Neilson  leader.  The  class  met  at 
the  house  of  Brother  Neilson  on  Franklin  street. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  April,  1875,  the  class  changed  their  place  of 
meeting  to  the  large  room  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall, 
at  the  corner  of  Mt.  Airy  avenue  and  the  Main  street. 

A  Sunday-school  was  then  formed  to  meet  at  the  same  place,  and 
known  as  the  Mt.  Airy  Mission  of  the  Haines  Street  Charge.      Brother 


REV.    \.  F.  I)(i|  ||  R]  R 


MPTHOhISM   IN   GERMANTOWN.  61 

Charles  M.  Dungan  was  appointed  as  the  Superintendent  of  the  school, 
and  Brother  Christian  Smith  was  selected  as  the  leader  of  the  class. 
Arrangements  we're  also  made  for  regular  Sunday  services,  to  be  con- 
ducted by  laical  Preachers  and  Exhorters,  who  from  time  to  time  might 

be  selected  to  fill  the  appointments.  The  services  were  conducted  in 
this  hall  for  about  two  years,  but  the  congregations  were  frequently 
disappointed  by  reason  of  the  brethren  who  were  appointed  to  conduct 
tlie  services,  not  putting  in  an  appearance. 

In  the  summer  of  1876,  the  brethren  at  .\\t.  Airy  felt  that  it  was 
necessary  to  secure  a  permanent  place  for  worship,  if  they  desired 
Methodism  at  that  point  to  be  a  success. 

Mr.  Jesse  Hinkle  ottered  to  the  congregation,  through  the  writer  of 
this,  a  lot  ot  ground  situate  at  the  corner  of  Nit.  Pleasant  avenue  and 
Bryan  street,  upon  very  reasonable  terms,  and  Brother  Gavin  Neilson, 
when  made  acquainted  with  the  offer,  determined  to  secure  the  lot,  and 
took  title  to  the  same  in  his  own  name,  the  lot  having  a  frontage  <<\\ 
Mt.  Pleasant  avenue  ot  one  hundred  (ioo)  feet  and  a  depth  on  Bryan 
street  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  (131)  feet.  Consideration,  a 
yearly  ground  rent  of  eighty  ($80)  dollars. 

At  the  next  Quarterly  Conference  of  the  Haines  Street  Church, 
Brother  Neilson  laid  the  whole  matter  before  them.  They  approved  ot 
his  action,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  endeavor  to  secure  funds  to 
the  amount  of  one  thousand  1  Si  ,000)  dollars  or  more,  and  it  successful  in 
raising  the  amount,  to  proceed  with  the  erection  ot  a  chapel  upon  said 
lot.  The  committee  consisted  of  Gavin  Neilson,  Edward  Savage,  Henry 
Smith,  Enos  P.  Hesser,  Mrs.  Charles  M.  Dungan,  Mis.  Christian  Smith 
and  Mrs.  Hannah  Hesser,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number.  The 
committee  organized,  and  then  added  to  their  number  Thomas  B.  Cope, 
R.  S.  Woddropp,  William  McArthur  and  John  T.  Walker. 

The  committee,  having  met  with  great  success  .\\)^\  having  secured 
more  than  the  amount  above-named,  proceeded  to  have  the  chapel 
erected,  the  contract   for  which  was  given   to   H.  P.  Rodd,  ot   Mt.  Airy. 


62  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

The  building,  which  is  thirty-seven  by  fifty-one  (37x51)  feet,  outside 
measurement,  and  a  very  substantial  frame,  was  staked  out  on  Tues- 
day, September  20th,  1876,  and  was  formally  dedicated  for  worship  on 
Sunday,  March  25th,  1877,  when  for  the  first  time  the  bell,  which  was  a 
donation  from  the  builder,  sent  forth  an  invitation  to  the  people  to 
"Come  up  to  the  House  of  the  Lord  and  worship." 

The  following  named  brethren  were  present  and  took  part  in  the 
dedicatory  services,  viz.  :  Revs.  Joseph  Mason,  J.  B.  McCullough  and 
Andrew  Longacre,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  and  Dr.  E.  H. 
Stokes,  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference. 

On  Sunday,  April  7th,  1877,  the  services  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  A.  F.  Dotterer,  junior  pastor  of  the  Haines  Street  Church,  whose 
special  duty  it  was  to  take  charge  of  this  Mission,  which  was  on  that 
day  formally  organized,  with  a  membership  of  24,  and  a  Sunday-school 
composed  of  14  officers  and  teachers,  and  60  scholars.  The  entire  cost 
of  the  building,  with  the  improvements,  furniture,  &c,  was  three 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-four  dollars  and  nine  cents  ($3424.09), 
all  of  which  was  raised  and  paid  before  the  dedication,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  eight  hundred  ($800)  dollars,  which  was  provided  for  and  sub- 
sequently paid. 

Two  of  the  brethren  who  took  an  active  part  in  all  church  work 
and  labored  hard  to  insure  the  erection  of  the  building,  viz.  :  Brothers 
Edward  Savage,  in  his  matured  manhood,  and  Enos  F.  Hesser,  in  the 
full  vigor  of  youth  and  activity,  were  taken  from  their  field  of  labor  to 
their  reward  in  heaven  before  the  building  was  completed. 

On  the  thirtieth  day  of  March,  1880,  Brother  Gavin  Neilson  took 
title  as  Trustee,  for  twenty  (20)  feet  of  ground  adjoining  the  church  lot 
on  the  southwest  in  trust  for  the  congregation. 

On  the  thirtieth  day  of  June,  1881,  the  ground  rent  was  extin- 
guished by  the  payment  of  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  ($1333.33),  thus  freeing  the  church 
property  from  all  indebtedness. 


MOUNT  PLEASANT  AVENUE  M.  E.  Mil  RCH. 


METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN.  65 

On  the  first  day  ol  June,  1SS5,  the  congregation  was  incorporated 
by  the  name  <>t  "The  Mount  Pleasant  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Philadelphia." 

The  Trustees  named  in  the  charter  were  :  Thomas  B.  Cope,  Robert 

Thomas,  Robert  T.  Laughlin,  Richard  W.  P.  Gough,  John  T.  Walker, 
Gavin  Neilson,  Charles  K.  Lippincott,  Charles  C.  Crawford  and  David 
Cliffe. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  September,  1885,  Gavin  Neilson  and  wife  con- 
veyed the  two  lots  of  -round  which  he  held  in  trust,  to  the  congregation 
by  their  proper  corporate  name  and  title. 

In  the  year  1887,  the  Church  purchased  a  lot  of  ground  on  Bryan 
street  adjoining  on  the  northwest  their  original  lot,  thus  giving  them 
an  additional  frontage  on  Bryan  street  of  eighteen  feet,  six  inches 
(18ft.  6in.) 

In  the  year  1893,  the  congregation  built  a  tine  stone  parsonage  on 
their  lot  fronting  on  Mt.  Pleasant  avenue,  containing  fourteen  rooms, 
and  furnished  with  all  modern  conveniences;  the  cost  of  the  parsonage 
and  furniture  being  about  eight  thousand  ($8,000)  dollars;  and  in 
January,  1884,  the  preacher-in-charge,  Rev.  J.  E.  Grauley,  moved  into 
the  same. 

The  membership  of  the  church  on  January  1st,  1895,  was  200; 
and  the  Sunday-school  was  composed  of  29  officers  and  teachers,  and 
225  scholars. 

For  list  of  preachers  serving  this  charge,  see  Appendix. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHESTNUT  HILL  H.   E.  CHURCH. 

Prior  to  the  year  [821,  their  had  been  occasional  preaching  at 
Chestnut  Hill  by  the  Methodist  preachers  of  Bristol  Circuit,  it  being 
within  the  limits  of  said  circuit,  but  not  one  of  the  regular  appointments. 

In  the  year  1821,  John  Magufrm,  a  Presbyterian,  residing  at  Chest- 
nut Hill,  built  a  chapel  on  his  ground,  on  the  road  leading  from  tin- 
Main  streel  toward  the  Wissahickon,   called  Graver's  lane,  and  now 


66  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

known  as  Union  avenue.  He  named  the  building  "Union  Chapel,"  it 
being  free  for  Christians  of  all  denominations  to  worship  therein.  In 
1822,  Chestnut  Hill  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  regular  preaching 
places  of  Bristol  Circuit,  and  the  preachers  visited  it  once  in  six  weeks. 
There  was  generally  preaching  there  in  the  chapel  every  other  week,  the 
services  being  conducted  by  Local  Brethren  or  Exhorters  when  the  Cir- 
cuit Preachers  were  not  there.  About  this  time  a  class  was  formed  at 
Chestnut  Hill,  and  William  Hawes  was  appointed  the  leader.  The  class 
met  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Hawes,  on  the  Main  street,  near  what  is  now 
known  as  Highland  avenue,  from  the  year  1823  down  to  the  year 
1853,  when  Jacob  Hawes  removed  from  Chestnut  Hill. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1832,  Bristol  Circuit  was  divided  and 
Germantown  Circuit  formed,  the  latter  having  fourteen  appointments, 
of  which  Chestnut  Hill  was  one. 

In  the  year  1844,  the  congregation  at  Chestnut  Hill  determined  to 
build  a  house  of  worship  for  themselves  on  a  lot  of  ground  which  they 
had  secured  on  the  west  side  of  the  Main  street,  or  Reading  Pike,  near 
what  is  now  known  as  Chestnut  avenue,  and  upon  which  the  present 
church  edifice  stands;  and  the  next  year  they  built  thereon  a  stone 
chapel  building,  two  stories  in  height,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was 
laid  in  June,  1845,  an^  the  building  finished  and  dedicated. 

Among  the  active  members  at  that  time,  was  Brother  Jacob  Win- 
dolph,  who  is  still  living  at  this  writing  and  is  an  honored  and  useful  mem- 
ber of  the  Church.  In  connection  with  the  history  of  this  church,  it  seems 
but  just  to  mention  the  name  of  John  Schultz,  who,  although  not  a 
member,  took  great  interest  in  the  building  of  the  church,  and,  shortly 
after  the  building  was  finished,  joined  the  Church,  and  remained  a 
faithful  and  liberal  member  of  it  until  his  removal  to  Norristown,  where 
he  still  resides,  and  is  now  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age;  and 
although  living  at  Norristown  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  present 
church  edifice,  he  was  one  of  the  most  liberal  contributors  toward  it. 


CHESTNUT   HILL   M.    E.   CHUHCH. 


METHODISM  IN  GLRMANTOWV 

On  May  [8th,  1847,  the  society  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of 
"The  Wesley  Methodist  Episcopal  Chapel  of  Chestnut  Hill." 

In  the  year  [851,  Germantown  was  set  apart  as  a  station,  and 
Chestnut  Hill  Circuit  was  formed,  and  in  the  year  [858,  Chestnut  Hill 
became  a  station. 

In  the  year  1S77,  during  the  pastorate  ol  the  Rev.  S.  I.  Kemble, 
the  congregation  erected  a  substantial  parsonage  on  their  lot  adjoining 
the  church  on  the  north,  at  a  cost  of  about  five  thousand  ($5,000)  dollars; 
and  through  the  untiring  efforts  of  Brother  Kemble,  assisted  by  Brother 
Windolph  and  others,  three  thousand  iS},ooo)  dollars  of  this  amount 
was  raised,  and  the  remaining  two  thousand  ($2,000)  dollars  was 
secured  by  jiivin^  a  mortgage  on  the  premises  tor  that  amount. 

Sister  Louisa  Lent/,  a  member  of  the  Church,  in  her  last  will  and 
testament,  directed   her   executors   to  pay  to  the  Church  two  thousand 

>oo)  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  wiping  out  the  mortgage.  Ibis 
was  done,  and   the   parsonage  freed   from   debt  immediately  after  her 

decease. 

During  the  year   [882,  Brother  Samuel  Irvin,  preacher-in-charge, 

raised  about  one  thousand  ($1,000)  dollars  in  cash  as  the  nucleus  ol  a 
building  fund  for  the  new  church  which  they  then  had  in  contemplation. 
In  March,  1SS4,  the  Rev.  A.  F.  Dotterer  was  appointed  pastor,  and 
on  August  25th,  [884,  ground  was  broken  for  the  new  church,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  September  25th,  [884;  and  on  June 
21st,  iS8^,  the  building  being  completed,  it  was  dedicated  to  the  service 
of  Almighty  God,  tree  from  debt.  The  old  church  and  the  new  are 
connected,  thus  forming  an  attractive  church  and  chapel.  The  entire 
cost   ot   these   improvements    was   about  twelve    thousand   ($12,000) 

dollars. 

The  Church  has  at  present  (January,  1895),  126  members  in  full 
standing,  and  i(>  probationers;  and  a  Sunday-school  ot  14  officers  and 
teachers,  a\\A  So  scholars. 

This   charge  is  in   a  very  flourishing  condition,  both  church  and 


70  METHODISM  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

parsonage  being  well  and  neatly  furnished,  the  congregations  good  and 
the  attendance  increasing. 

For  list  of  preachers  serving  this  charge,  see  Appendix. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  OF    METH0DI5H  IN  GERMANTOWN. 

In  concluding  this  history,  the  writer  desires  to  state  that  he  has 
been  frequently  asked  the  question,  "When  will  be  the  proper  time  to 
celebrate  the  Centennial  anniversary  of  Methodism  in  Germantown?" 
and  in  answer  thereto  says,  that  in  his  opinion,  the  present  year  (1895) 
is  the  proper  time,  for  the  following  reasons,  viz.: 

I  find,  by  referring  to  the  minute  book  of  the  Trustees  of  the  German- 
town  Academy,  that  in  the  winter  of  the  years  1794  and  1795  the 
Methodists  had  the  privilege  of  worshipping  in  the  Academy  Building, 
and  about  that  time  a  class  was  formed,  of  which  Joseph  Jacobs,  a 
Wesleyan,  was  selected  as  the  leader.  The  class  met  in  private  houses, 
and  the  outlook  was  so  encouraging,  that  on  the  fourth  day  of  June, 
1796,  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper  appointed  Brother  Jacobs  the  regular  leader 
of  the  class,  which,  at  that  time,  had  eleven  members. 

Thus,  in  my  mind,  the  forming  of  the  class  in  1795,  which  after- 
ward proved  so  successful,  fixes  the  dateiforthe  Centennial  Anniversary 
in  the  year  1895. 

ROBERT  THOMAS, 
January,  i8g^.  Compiler. 


Appendix. 


List  of  Presiding  Elders  having  supervision  over  the  Churches  of 

Germantown  and  Chestnut  Hill,  from  the  year  1805  to  January,  1895: 


Solomon  Sharp. 


805 

806 

807 

808 William  P.  Chandler. 

809 William  Hunter. 

810 

8ll 

812 

813 Henry  Boehm. 

814 

815 Robert  R.  Roberts. 

816 Daniel  Hitt. 

817 "   " 

818 "   " 


1819 
1820 
1821 
1822 
1823 
1824 
1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 


1832— Germantown  Circuit  Formed 

1833 George  Banghart.  [845 

1834 "  i's4'' 

1835 "  1847 

1836 "  "  [848 

1837 James  Smith.  1849 

1838 "        "  1850 

1839 "        "  *i8qi 

1840 1852 

1841 Solomon  Higgins.  1853 

[842 "  "  1854 

1843 "  "  1855 

1844 

*  ( ;  eri  11  an  town  made  a  station  and  Cbestnal  11  ill  Circuit  formed. 


Daniel  Hitt. 
James  Bateman. 


Joseph  Lybrand. 


William  Thatcher. 


Manning  Force. 


1.  \.  Massey. 


J.  P.  Durbin. 
Elijah  Miller. 

J.  D.  Curtis. 


APPENDIX  {Continued). 


*i856. 

1857 
1858 

1859 

i860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869- 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 


T.  J 


Will 


am  L.  Grav. 


James  Cunningham.       1876 Aaron  Rittenhouse. 

1877 " 

1878 " 

"  1879 William  Swindells. 

Thompson.  1880 "  " 

!   1881  

!  1882  

1883 Joseph  Welsh. 

1884 " 

1885 " 

1886 " 

1887 John  F.  Meredith. 

1888 " 

-f-1889 " 

1890 " 

1891 Samuel  W.  Thomas 

1892 

1893 " 

1894 " 


Joseph  Castle. 


Wiliiam  H.  Elliott. 


St.  Stephen's  Church  organized. 

Mt.  Pleasant  Avenue  became  a  station. 


APPENDIX  {Continued). 

List  of  Preachers  in  charge  of  Bristol  Circuit,  together  with  number 
oi  members  on  the  circuit  from  \.jt  4  to  1828,  after  which  date  we  have 
no  record  of  the  number  of  members  on  the  circuit. 

Ni.      O] 
II     IB.  IKK  \c    BBS.  MKM  111   R8 

1794 William  Hunter  and  John  Bateman 217 

1  7m; William  Hardesty  and  Joseph  Rowen ...      173 

William  Colbert  and  James  Whitby 1;- 

1  Charles  Cavender  and  Richard  Lyon 153 

1798 James  Moore [63 

1        Jacob  Egbert 203 

1800 Arming  Owen  and  Joseph  Osborn [73 

1801 William  P.  Chandler  and  John  Fidler 

1  -    ■ Eishart  McCoy  and  Thomas  

1-    - Henry  Clarke  and  John  Bothel 

1S04 David  Bartine  and  David  James 2^7 

180;; Asa  Smith  and  h.  Hegby 237 

1-      Asa  Smith,  D.  Hegby  and  William  Hoyer 24.1 

1807 John  Walker  and  Richard  Lyon 

1808 Thomas  Dunn  and  James  Polhemus 3co 

i8cq D.  Bartine.  James  Aikens  and   Joseph  Stephens 

1S10 James  Aikens,  William  Fisher  and  William  P.  Chandler.   .    .      531 

[811 Thomas  Boring  and  William  Fisher .  .  .  •  ■ •  .   .     469 

1812 Richard  Sneath  and  John  Walker 

[813 Thomas  Dunn,  Charles  Reed  and  James  Polhemus 

1S14 Charles  Heed  and  William  Torbert 

1815 William  Torbert  and  William  Foulke 

Asa  Smith  and  Daniel  Ireland 

1817 Asa  Smith  and  John  Fox 504 

1818 John  Robinson  and  John   Price 

l8ig Samuel  Budd 543 

1820 Manning  I  I  PI        is  Price.   ...    • 

1S21 "  "  "  ••         * 

1822 Jacob  Gruber  and  Daniel  Fidler 

l823 "  "  '•  •■  * 

1824 William  Williams  and  rhomas  Davis 

[825 Edward  Stout,  Samuel  Grace  and  Robert  Gear)     a  supply)  .  .       * 

[826 Edward  Stout  and  Joseph  Carey 

1827 Henry  G.  King  and  Robert  Lutton 

1828 Henry  G.  King  and  James  B.  Ayers 634 

1820 Thomas  Neil  and  Nathaniel  Chew 

1830 Thomas  Neil  and   Manlove  Ha/el 

18^1 Edward  Page,  lohn  Finley  and  James  Long 

*  No  record. 


APPENDIX  {Continued). 

1832-  Ciermantown  Circuit  Formed. 

List  of  Preachers  for  Germantown  Circuit: 

NO.  OF 

YE4R.  PREACHER.  MEMBERS. 

1832 John  Finley  and  John  Nicholson * 

1833 John  Woolson  and  William  Granvill * 

1834 John  Woolson,  William  Granvill  and  Henry  Sutton * 

1835 William  W-  Foulk  and  William  H.  Gilder * 

1836 "               "                  "                "       * 

1837 Caleb  Lippincott  and  M.  D.  Curts  (a  supply) * 

1838 Caleb  Lippincott  and  Silas  C.  Palmer  (an  assistant) * 

1839 George  Lacey  and  J.  L.  Taft * 

1840 David  Daily,  J.  L.  Taft  and  William  H.  Gilder  (a  supernumer- 
ary)  

1841 David  Dailey,  David  Shields  (and  James  Neil  for  part  of  the 

year) * 

1842 John  A.  Roach  and  William  H.  Gilder  (a  supernumerary)  .    .  * 

1843 James  Cunningham ....••....  * 

1844 "               "             * 

1845 John  S.  Inskip  and  Peter  Hallowell * 

1846 Mahlon  H.  Sisty  and  Samuel  Pancoast * 

1847 Mahlon  H.  Sisty  and  J.  E.  Meredith * 

1848  ......  J.  D.  Curtis   (and  Alfred  Cookman,  for  Chestnut  Hill)  ...  * 

1849 J.  D.  Curtis  (and  J.  B.  McCullough  for  Chestnut  Hill)  .   ...  * 

1850 Gasoway  Oram  (and  Reuben  Owen  for  Chestnut  Hill)    ....  * 

185 1 — Germantown  Made  a  Station. 

185 1 Gasoway  Orum * 

1852 George  D.  Bowen * 

1853 "                 "       * 

1854 Newton    Heston     * 

1855 "            "          * 

1 1856 George    Quigley * 

1857 "             "             * 

1858 William  McCoombs * 

1859 J.  H.  Alday * 

i860 "        "      * 

1861  ...    •  .    .  Charles  Karsner * 

1862 "            "        * 

1863 George  W.  McLaughlin       * 

1864 "                      "             * 

1865 J.  B.  Maddox * 

1866 J.  E.Meredith * 

*  No  record. 

t  St.  Stephen's  Church  formed. 


APPENDIX  {Continued). 


\  I  A  K 
[867 

[868 
1869 

1870 
1871 

1873 
[874 
1875 
1876 

1878 
1879 
[880 
[88i 
[882 
[883 
1SS4 
1885 
[886 
1887 
1888 

i8(p 
1891 
1892 

[893 

1894 


■HI-  \<-  111  1 


J.  E.Meredith  . 
G.  D.  Carrow 


Tin unas  C    Murphy 

loseph  Mason 

Robert  Whinna  I  A.  F.  Dotterer  for  Mt.  Pleasant*  .  .  ■ 
J.  Hepburn  Hargis  1  Frank  H.  Moore  for  Mt.  Pleasant1. 
E.  B.  Snyder    H.  R.  Robinson  forMt.  Pleasant    ... 


E.  B.  Snyder  1 G.  M.  Brodhead  for  Mt.  Pleasant 
J.  H.  Hargis  I  G-  M.  Brodhead  for  Mt.  Pleasant    . 


J.  H.  Hargis  (G.  Bickley  Burns  for  Mt.  Pleasant 

J.  H.  Hargis 

R.  W.  Humphriss 


NO.    OF 

MKMUKRS. 


R.  W.   Humphriss  and   A.   Greaves    assistant   tor   East    Side 

Mission 

R.  W.  Humphriss  ( A.  D.  Shields  tor  East  Side  Mission  1  .   .   . 
Frank  R.  Parkins    (A.  D.  Shields   for  East  Side  Mission  I  .    . 


List  of  Preachers  serving  in  St.  Stephen 

1856 Newton  Heston-  (866 

1857 William  H.  Elliott.  [867 

i8<;8 "  "  's"'s 

[859 Samuel  W.  Thomas.  l86g 

••  "  1870 

1861 Curtis  F.  Turner.  187] 

[86a "  "  [872 

[863 Wesley  Kenny.  [873 



1865 "  "  1*7; 

No  record. 

Mi  .Pleasant  A. venue  became  a  Btatlon, 


■  chai  J 
John  rhompson. 

Michael   1  i.i\  . 

lames  Cunningham. 

J.  B.  Maddox. 


APPENDIX  {Continued). 


1876  .......  Jacob  Todd. 

1877 Charles  W.  Bickley. 

1878 " 

1879 " 

1880 Thomas  T.  Everett. 

1881 

*i882    


1883 Wesley  C.  Best. 


1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1 89 1 
1892 
1893 
1894 


•  S.  H.  Heilner. 


A.  L.  Urban. 


Alpha  G.  Kynett. 


Preachers    in    charge    of    Mt.    Pleasant    Avenue    Church   after    it 
became  a  station: 


1889 
1890 
1891 


A  Heebner. 


1892 Jacob  E.  Grauley. 

1893 " 

1894 " 


Preachers  in   charge  of  the  Chestnut  Hill  Church  since  its  separa- 
tion from  the  Germantown  Circuit  in  185 1, 

George  W.    Lybrand. 
J.  R.  Merrill. 

S.  T.  Kemble. 


185 1 Andrew  Longacre. 

1852 " 

1853 T.  Snowden  Thomas. 

1854 

1855 Henry  Bodine. 

1856 J.  L.  Heysinger. 

1857 Rich'd  W.  Humphrys. 

1858 Noble  Frame. 

1859 T.  M.  Griffith. 

i860 •  S.  L.  Gracev. 

1861 S.  N.  Chew. 

1862 " 

1863 J.  F.  Reynolds. 

1864 J.  Mast. 

1865 

1866 Charles  I.  Little. 

1867 S.  Townsend. 

1868 " 

1869 Andrew  Manship. 

1870 

1871 

872  O.  L.  Haddock. 


1873 
1874 
1875 

1876 

1877 
1878 

1879 
1 88c 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 

1893 
1894 


*  In  December,  1882,  Brother  Evere  tt  resigned  the  pastorate  to  accept  the  position  of 


Private  Secretary  to  Governor  Pattison,  and  the  Presiding  Elder 
to  fill  the  unexpired  term. 


J.  B.  Maddox. 
Joseph  S.   Cook. 
Samuel  Irwin. 

Thomas  W.  Simpers. 
Abner  F.  Dotterer. 


J.  P.  Miller. 

W.  P.  Howell. 
Charles  H.  Rorer. 


ippointed  Joseph  Mason 


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